England Cricket Board(ECB) roped Manchester City psychologist – David Young for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. David Young played the psychologist role for the English squad that won the ODI World Cup 2019.
The decision to hire David Young was taken by England white-ball head coach Matthew Mott. Matthew made this move as he wants his players to remain emotionally strong when they come under pressure.
David has previously worked with the England squad from 2016 to 2020. He has offered services to one of the most top-tier football clubs – Manchester City, closely working with Pep Guardiola.
Young was a part of the Manchester City which won their fourth successive Premier League title recently. England white-ball coach Matthew Mott believed the presence of Young would improve communication.
“He’s previously been with the team and he’s already been a great ally in messages back to me, making sure my messages are clear,” Mott said.
“It’s always good to have someone who’s a little bit removed from the squad to make sure you’re landing your messages … He’s still doing other roles but we’ve got him for this series, and the start of the World Cup as well.”
Mott recalled England’s poor outing in the recent World Cup in India. England entered as the defending champions and were among the first teams to get knocked out of the tournament. They managed to register only three wins from nine matches.
“When you’ve had the kick in the pants like we’ve had, you can’t just go ‘business as usual’. You have to redefine how you go as a team,” Mott said about England’s returns in India.
“As a group, we’ve made a commitment to be a bit more open in and around our training sessions, to help each other out a bit more.
“In India, all of us were guilty of being a bit insular, and trying to problem-solve ourselves. We’ve made a commitment to open up and be a bit more vulnerable as a group so that we’re helping each other.”
England has been named under Group B along with Namibia, Australia, Oman, and Scotland. They will play their first match of the tournament on June 4 against Scotland at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
