Four-time English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester City psychologist David Young, who was previously with the England cricket team during their 2019 World Cup campaign, has rejoined the side for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Young has had a prolific run with the English Premier League side Manchester City, who recently won their fourth straight Premier League title. Before joining the Premier League club, Young was with the England cricket side, overseeing the senior men’s team from 2016 to 2020, including in their victorious ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign.
Young has now rejoined the England side temporarily and will be part of the support staff for the T20I series against Pakistan and through the Men’s T20 World Cup.
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.”
After England’s uninspired run during the recently concluded ODI World Cup in India, Mott wanted to have 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. 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,” Mott said.
“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.