Axe to fall on failures

ENGLAND coach Chris Silverwood slammed his batsmen after a second-innings collapse all but handed their Test series to New Zealand, and suggested places would be up for grabs against India in August.

Joe Root’s team slid to 122 for nine on the third day of the second Test at Edgbaston, an overall lead of just 37 — with Mark Wood’s 29 from No 9 the highest score of a sorry display.

Zak Crawley, whose 17 was his first double-figure score in seven innings, and part- time wicketkeeper James Bracey, who followed two ducks with a score of 11, will almost certainly be axed ahead of the first Test against India at Trent Bridge on August 4.

But others — such as Ollie Pope and maybe even opener Dom Sibley — will be under pressure to retain their places after an errorstrewn performance against the rampant New Zealanders.

‘ It’s disappointing and it’s not what we wanted,’ said Silverwood. ‘We need to work on our batting, there’s no point running away from it. We need to get in the nets and figure it out.

‘It obviously wasn’t good enough,’ he added, as England prepared for their first home series defeat in seven years. ‘We need to improve, no doubt about that. We always knew it would be a tough ask with the young batting line-up we have, but there were plenty of lessons out there to learn from.

‘I’m not going to lie. I thought it was a great opportunity for some of the younger lads to come in and stamp their mark on the game. One or two will be disappointed they haven’t been able to do that.’

With Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler set to return against India, England’s middle order will soon take on a less green hue, and Silverwood admitted: ‘We talk about what we’re going to look like heading into Australia. I’d like to start galvanising that , certainly through the India series.’

Asked whether England may now look elsewhere, and possibly return to the experience of Dawid Malan, who recently made 199 for Yorkshire in the County Championship, he replied: ‘I’ll be keeping my mind open, that is for definite. If people are getting runs, I’ll be taking notice.’

Silverwood tried to play down the extent to which his team had been distracted by the controversy over racist and sexist tweets that has dogged the English game for the last 12 days.

‘We’ve tried very hard to make sure that the noise on the outside has been quietened down to try and concentrate on the cricket,’ he said. ‘Obviously, it’s not easy, but that’s what we’ve had to try and do, because we had a Test match to try and compete in.’

Asked if the clock was running out on some players, Silverwood effectively put them on notice and made it clear it would not be a difficult decision to bring back the established performers.

While reliable run scorers are in short supply, t he competition among the seam bowlers remains strong.

Stuart Broad was excellent with figures of four for 48, while Olly Stone and Mark Wood bowled with pace and hostility.

‘ I always feel for the bowlers because I’m an ex-bowler,’ Silverwood said.