BUBBLE & STRIFE
Silverwood fearful of Buttler and Archer suffering burnout
CHRIS SILVERWOOD is concerned England stars Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer could face burnout after spending nearly five months in bio- secure lockdown.
The pair have been in the bubble longer than any other players during a gruelling summer after featuring in Tests, T20s and ODIs.
But this weekend they will swap one for another in the Indian Premier League when they join up with Rajasthan Royals for the T20 showpiece in the United Arab Emirates.
Silverwood maintained England’s management have discussed concerns with all their IPL players and will keep in regular contact to ensure nobody is suffering mental or physical fatigue.
But those who have been with England all summer in all three squads could rack up nearly five months in lockdown from June to November. And he admitted that is not ideal with the winter’s cricket and the big ICC event in India next year in mind.
“It’s their decision to go really and obviously the contracts are good for them and the more high- class T20 they can play will be a good thing for us,” said the England head coach.
“But equally we’re looking forward at a T20 World Cup. The one thing I have encouraged is that they keep talking to us and we need to make sure they don’t burn out.” Silverwood admitted paceman Archer found the bio- secure bubbles a challenge.
“Jofra has found being locked up difficult at times but he’s not the only player, there’s been quite a few,” he said. “It’s been a juggling act keeping people fresh in the mind, getting them out of the bubble when we can.”
An agonising three- wicket defeat against Australia in a thrilling final match of the summer at Old Trafford on Wednesday condemned Eoin Morgan’s 50- over side to a series defeat on home soil for the first time in five years.
But while Silverwood felt his side were not at their very best, he insisted they were not taking backward steps just over a year after World Cup glory. “There were a few more gears in there for us,” he added. “But we have to keep pushing boundaries. The last thing I want is for the guys to go into their shell.
“If we get pushed, we want to push back harder. It’s what these guys do. They don’t know what limits are so we’ll just keep trying to create an environment where they feel they’ll break records.”