LONDON: England director Ashley Giles said that new coach Chris Silverwood will be able to direct more focus on Test cricket and won’t let limited-overs cricket get ‘smothered’.
“We don’t want a coach who will come in and smother white-ball cricket and Eoin [Morgan],” Giles was quoted as saying on ICC website.
“But we want someone who is going to give Joe more support, put more structure in place around him and together form the DNA of what a Test team looks like, which I don’t think we’ve quite got to yet.,” he added.
The year 2019 was a mixed one for England. They won their maiden ICC World Cup title at home, but their form in Test slumped.
They lost a three-match series in West Indies 1-2 at the start of the year and later, for the first time since 2001, were unable to take back the Ashes urn in a home series, with Australia retaining the trophy after a 2-2 draw.
Now, with the appointment of Silverwood, England aim to redress the balance between Tests and ODI.
Giles also hoped that the new coach is able to provide more support to Joe Root as Test captain so that he can focus more on his batting.
He expressed confidence in Silverwood’s ability to bring Test cricket back into focus. Giles was also pleased that the pick had come from within the national borders.
Silverwood is only the second homegrown coach of the England men’s team in this century.
