The 2-1 loss in the T20I series to South Africa, according to England's white-ball head coach Matthew Mott, is a "line in the sand moment" for the hosts. England lost to South Africa by 90 runs in the decisive T20I at the Ageas Bowl, capping a home summer in which they failed to take home a single white-ball series victory.
"With bat and ball, our confidence was low. It was depressing. I believed we gave ourselves a strong chance to win the series, and we will need to learn a lot from that game. I just had a brief conversation with Jos, and this is a turning point for the team "after the game, Mott spoke with Sky Sports.
Midway through September, England will play Pakistan in a seven-match Twenty20 International series before travelling to Australia for a three-match T20 International series and the Men's T20 World Cup. In order to build that confidence, Mott said, "We'll want to use The Hundred really well. That way, when we get ready for Pakistan and the World Cup, we're a bit of a different team."
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Mott blamed the thrashing in the third T20I against the Proteas on a lack of battling spirit with the bat. "We entered the series with huge expectations to try and win it, but we never really got going. They were slightly above average with the bat, and by the end we had simply lost too many wickets."
"The last day leaves it with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It's been a little challenging. We have seen both highs and lows this summer. We've played against two excellent teams and lost to them both, so we're disappointed."
Despite playing 12 matches in 25 days, Mott refused to attribute England's bad performance in white-ball matches on their tight schedule. "The rapid turnarounds have undoubtedly been detrimental, but we must do better than that. We must all admit that even if we are amateurs, we are still professional cricketers, and that performance was not what we wanted to be remembered for."
Eoin Morgan, a former England captain, commented on Sky Sports that England's batting appeared shaky in the third Twenty20 International against South Africa. "Would be. Although England is known for its aggressive hitting, they came out as hesitant in this game. England would have taken a lot more shots sooner in prior seasons instead of giving it more time and consideration."
"The likelihood of losing the game increases as it goes on. We never saw the authority stamping that (former England head coach) Trevor Bayliss often spoke of from England. I'm not sure what it is since the batters, all the way down to No. 8, are quite aggressive, and there haven't been many personnel changes other from my retirement and Ben Stokes not being on this team."