The England men's cricket team has onboarded Manchester City psychologist David Young, in its bid to defend the T20 World Cup title in the USA and West Indies in June 2024. Young was previously with England during their victorious 2019 ODI World Cup campaign. (Full IPL Coverage | More Cricket News)
Young was part of the English cricket setup between 2016 and 2020, and has since been associated with City, the reigning English Premier League champions who recently lifted the trophy for the fourth year running. For now, the psychologist has returned to the England dressing room on a temporary basis and will be part of the support staff for the T20I series against Pakistan, and through the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Matthew Mott, England's white-ball coach, felt the presence of Young would bolster 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."
England's dismal campaign at last year's ODI World Cup in India led Mott to seek a more open approach. "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.
"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," he added.
