7 November - Pune - England Assistant coach Carl Hopkinson pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
After three games unchanged and not great results, do you know what the team is going to be? Have you got team changes for us?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Well, we're going to wait until after practice before we talk about the team. I haven't spoken to Motty [Matthew Mott] about that quite yet or Jos [Buttler]. Normally, that's how we work. We normally will wait until after practice, see how we've got a few niggles kicking around the camp. Obviously, it's been a tough campaign in terms of games and travel, etc. And after the last game, there are a few niggles about, so we need to wait to get through training and find out that before any sort of changes were announced.
[Reporter:]
Any specifics on the Niggles or is it just a case of...
[Carl Hopkinson:]
No, I think just more just aches and creaks of 50-over cricket, to be honest. I don't think there's anything serious. It's just we need to wait until after training and get through that before we can see which XI takes the field.
[Reporter:]
Obviously, without a player here to tell us, can you give us an insight into how the guys are up for this game? Obviously, the prize that they wanted is gone, retaining the World Cup, but there is still something to play for - it's not a dead rubber
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Absolutely, I don't think there's ever a dead rubber when you play for England to be honest, I think the lads are completely up for - we've got two games in which we need to win both to qualify for the for the Champions Trophy, So I think that's there for everybody to see and the guys are going to be obviously up for it and I think we'll be good tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
And what's your assessment of where things have gone wrong and what's your role in improving that and doing what you can to change things tomorrow?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
I think cricket can be a game of - It's about executing under pressure, isn't it? Everybody knows that, and I think this team has been well known for doing that really, really well. It's an incredibly skilful team, it's a very talented team, but at key moments in certain situations, we haven't executed under pressure like we normally do. And I think that's something that we can always look to improve on in practice and everything you go about doing. It's not to say that lads aren't trying to do that in practice, they obviously are, but we haven't got that right in key moments and I think that's something that we can definitely improve on.
[Reporter:]
I just wonder, has there been any, since Ben [Stokes] said he was having the operation and everything, has there been any talk among the management, the coaching staff, about seeing if Ben wants to get home a little bit early and get into that operation and rehab a little bit early?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
I just got asked that question. I mean, I think, knowing Ben, like I do and like you do, he'll want to try and play the next game in front of him and try and win that for England. He's about winning games of cricket for England, so I'd imagine that's what he'll be thinking about first and foremost. Once he's obviously made that decision to have the operation, that's obviously booked in and that's what he's going to do. It's not before this tournament finishes. So, I'd imagine that's what Ben will be thinking.
[Reporter:]
Has England put in a lot more in the Tests than ODI’s coming for the World Cup?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
No, absolutely not. The schedule is obviously very busy like it is for all international teams. I think we balance players playing Test cricket and playing ODI cricket to try and get the best performances that we can do. So, I don't think there's ever one that gets put in front of the other. But there is always a balancing act when you have Test series played so closely to ODI series. So, you just try and make the calls as best you can around selection and have the team there for that. I don't think that's the case now.
[Reporter:]
Can I ask what the qualities are of Mathew Mott as a head coach in this setup? What does he bring? What's his style of coaching that perhaps people on the outside haven't necessarily seen?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Well, first and foremost, I think Motty's a relaxed character. I think he's got a lot of experience in lots of different avenues that he can draw on and bring to the table, bring to the party when things aren't going well, but equally when they do go well, like they have done this time last year. So, I think all that experience that he's gained from all around the world sets him in good stead to lead this team moving forward.
[Reporter:]
And [Eoin] Morgan, who obviously knows the set-up, knows the captain, knows the players very well, has a question about clarity, whether there's been clarity and consistency in messaging from the leadership group how would you what would be your appraisal of that? Not what he said, but whether - Is there good clarity and messaging or has it got a bit confused as results have kind of unravelled?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
No, not at all. The messaging is always the same and has been ever since Mott and Jos took over. Everybody knows how we like to play as a team. We like to be aggressive. We like to be on the front foot. And I don't think that messaging has changed. And I think it is very clear and I've not seen or heard anything to the contrary of that so no I don't think that's the case at all.
[Reporter:]
Obviously, this is a tough place to play with conditions sometimes and you've got a team full of guys in their 30s. The Australia game I think they ran something like 25 or 28 twos. Do you feel like the fitness of the players has been something involved in that, the commitment in the field, anything like that? Or was it just a diagnosis as to how they managed to run as many twos as they did? I think it was the most of any team in this tournament.
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Yeah, look, I think Australia, first and foremost, are good runners between the wickets. I think we actually saved just as many runs possibly in the outfield as they did. I mean I don't log their scores like I do with us but we actually dived and stopped very well in that game like we did in India. I think India's the highest game I've logged in terms of how many runs we saved. So, in terms of that, I don't think so. I think, again, it's about executing skill. I think we did that; we've done that really well over two games. Okay, they did get a lot of twos, but maybe that's more around how Australia ran than anything else, I think.
[Reporter:]
What lessons do you think England can learn from this tournament?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Well, like I mentioned earlier, I think it's more around actual skill execution and those key moments throughout the tournament. I think it's clear for everybody to see that we haven't got those quite right and as executed as well as we possibly could have done and actually that's what this team's probably known for over the last five or six years so I think that's probably the biggest takeaway for me as a coach.
[Reporter:]
Do England necessarily train enough? I'm not saying they don't but there are quite a lot of rest days between games and then it tends to be two days out a real hard session the day before the game is somewhat lighter session. Is that enough?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
I think the balance between rest and training is always key. I think as a group we like to make sure that when the lads turn up, every training session is a prop on full intensity session. So sometimes if you train all the time, then that can take away from that a little bit But I think we've got the balance. I think we've got the balance pretty right
[Reporter:]
This is the first public press conference since England exited a World Cup that they won so gloriously in 2019. First chance to speak to the fans to explain what went wrong because people are very interested in that. Why do you think that you were selected as the man to front this up and do you have anything to say on that subject? You know, what's your thesis as to what went wrong and why in particular have, they decided you're the man to explain this?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
I'm not quite sure why I'm the man to explain. I think that I'm an assistant coach with the England team and I'm more than happy to come out and speak about our campaign so far.
[Reporter:]
Could you explain then, what's the four-year plan from here to put this right?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
I think first and foremost we have to think about what's coming tomorrow. I think anything that comes after that is what comes after that. We need to be thinking about tomorrow, we need to be thinking about Pakistan because we've got two very important games in which we need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do. And I think you're asking about after that at the moment I want to concentrate on what's in front of us training this afternoon preparing the lads as well as we can for the game tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
I was asking more about the immediate past if you had any idea what you know really what's gone wrong here because that's what people will want to know.
[Carl Hopkinson:]
Yeah, okay. Well, look, I think, I've spoken, I've said it three or four times now, execution under pressure hasn't been what we'd have liked. And I think, we can talk about anything else you like to do, but that's what cricket comes down to, essentially. We haven't done that as well as we normally do.
[Reporter:]
How do you improve execution under pressure?
[Carl Hopkinson:]
It comes from lots of things. It comes from, first of all, doing it in a game, winning games of cricket, which gives you confidence, but then ultimately it comes from your training as well, which every single one of the players is always trying to put right, and this group is well-renowned for pushing the boundaries of their own game and always looking to improve.