SILVERWOOD: LET’S GO BAT TO THE FUTURE
Old-school grafting and relentless bowling will revitalise England Test team, says Silverwood
Chris silverwood revealed a back-to-basics manifesto to improve the Test team’s fortunes and win back the Ashes after being presented as England’s head coach at Lord’s yesterday.
According to England managing director Ashley Giles, silverwood possesses the right credentials to propel a team ranked fourth in the world to the top after transforming Essex from a ‘bit of a rabble’ to county champions inside two years.
To do so, the 44-year-old — who beat international candidates including Gary Kirsten to become only the second Englishman after Peter Moores to be appointed head coach of the team since 1999 — intends to place a greater emphasis on batting long and bowling relentlessly accurately.
An eventful first 72 hours in the job — he responded to being offered it by Giles with a single word ‘ Wow!’ — included an in- depth phone chat with Test captain Joe root (right) on the direction in which he wants the team to head this winter. They are, he says, on the same page.
‘i want to make sure that, from the get-go, Joe and i are aligned with how we’re going to go about taking the team forward,’ he said.
‘We want to bat long periods of time and we want to create a bowling attack that is absolutely relentless. We saw some examples this summer.
‘The Aussies made our lives really difficult. They were fit, they were strong and they were relentless.’
That means the ‘total cricket’ style root fostered under Trevor Bayliss is consigned to history, as crease-occupiers such as Dominic sibley, who signed a new contract yesterday that will keep him at Warwickshire until the end of 2022, are invested in ahead of more exuberant batsmen like his former surrey team-mate Jason roy.
such a policy is no guarantee of a fix, of course, and pain could precede gain in terms of results, although a two-match series in New Zealand late next month offers an ideal opportunity to blood uncapped players because it does not count towards the World Test Championship.
‘some cogs will turn faster than others. i saw exactly the same during my time at Essex,’ said silverwood. ‘it may be that we have to give people time to find their feet. But we’re respectful of that and it’s up to me to create the environment where they can get it wrong a few times as long as they’re learning things that add to their game. i’m perfectly fine with that.
‘it could be Dom sibley coming in at the top of order, and we’ve got to make sure a guy who’s going to be feeling the pressure anyway is given a chance.
‘hopefully what we’ll find is the runs that he’s been scoring, he brings to Test cricket, then all of a sudden the process starts.’
silverwood’s other significant call this week was to vice- captain Ben stokes on the latest off-field attention he attracted when photos of him with his hand on his wife Clare’s face emerged from last week’s PCA awards evening. ‘i have spoken to him and, as far as i’m concerned, all the questions have been asked,’ said silverwood. ‘ it’s done. i wasn’t there. i’m happy with what i’ve been told. ‘it’s a lesson for everybody. You’ve got to be careful because innocent things can be taken out of context.’ With this in mind, the midnight curfew to which England players must adhere while on international duty will remain in place at the start of silverwood’s regime.
‘Firstly, i’ve not heard anybody complain about it, which has been fantastic. it just puts a little onus on how professional things have got to be. it’s not like the old days. The level of professionalism expected of them is higher, as it should be, which is fine.’
Giles said recently a greater onus needed to be placed on developing England’s Test cricket following the summer’s World Cup win and silverwood wants to create not only the world’s best team but the most respected one.
‘You want to be successful, but it’s how you are successful as well. so it’s winning in the right spirit. Winning with a bit of class, and respecting your opposition as well,’ said silverwood, who will make Paul Collingwood a permanent part of his backroom team.