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Cricket buzz: Silverwood named England head coach

October 07, 2019 17:14 IST

England's pacer Jofra Archer chalts bowling coach Chris Silverwood during nets.

IMAGE: England pacer Jofra Archer chats with bowling coach Chris Silverwood during nets. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Reuters

England bowling coach Chris Silverwood has been named the head coach of the men’s team, replacing Australia’s Trevor Bayliss, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Monday.

 

British media had reported last week that former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten had emerged as the leading contender to take over although the 44-year-old Silverwood was also in the reckoning.

“We are delighted to confirm Chris as England men’s head coach. We have gone through a thorough process and looked at all the options that were available to us. Chris was the standout candidate,” England’s director of cricket Ashley Giles said.

“He is what we need to take our international teams forward. He’s somebody we know well, but it is his intimate understanding of our structures and systems and his close relationships with Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Eoin Morgan that will help us develop our plans for the next few years.”

Silverwood, who played six Tests and seven One-Day Internationals for England between 1996 and 2002, coached Essex to the County Championship title in 2017 before joining the England set-up.

He said he is excited to get started in the job.

"There is a tremendous amount of talent coming through, and there is enormous potential for growth. The hard work starts now, and I am confident we can make a positive impact during our winter tours of New Zealand and South Africa."

England won the 50-over World Cup in July for the first time but failed to wrest back the Ashes from Australia, who retained the urn after a 2-2 draw.

India second in women's ODI rankings

India not only maintained second position but also increased their lead over third-placed England in the latest ICC women's ODI rankings, released on Monday.

Led by Mithali Raj, India (125) widened the gap over England (122) by three points.

In the T20 International rankings, India is placed fifth.

Australia's consistent performances ensured their tight grasp on the top spots in both the women's ODI and T20I rankings, introduced last October.

In the ODI rankings, the West Indies lost five points and are now just two points ahead of Pakistan in seventh place.

Australia, who won the ICC women's T20 World Cup in the West Indies last year, increased their lead over England from 10 to 14 points in the T20I Player rankings, a table that has increased from 46 to 055 teams over the past year.

Among other teams, Thailand moved within four points of 10th placed Ireland after a remarkable run saw them win a world record 17 consecutive matches earlier this year, breaking the previous record of 16 successive wins by Australia.

Thailand, who played the most T20Is in this period with 25 matches and winning 21 of them, also qualified for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia, the first time the country will figure in a global cricket event.

Denmark (40th) and Mexico (41st) are the biggest gainers in the T20I rankings table with eight points each while Ireland and Singapore lost seven points each.

Smith, Warner return to Sheffield Shield

 Australia batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner will play their first domestic Sheffield Shield matches in almost two years when they turn out from Thursday for New South Wales against Queensland.

Neither player has appeared in a four-day match Shield since November 2017 when both also appeared for New South Wales against Queensland.

The pair missed all of the 2018-19 season while serving 12-month suspensions for their role in the March, 2018 ball-tampering incident in South Africa.

They were named Monday to play for New South Wales in the first round of the 2019-2020 season along with Australia teammate Mitchell Starc.

Smith and Warner returned to Test cricket during the Ashes series in England in August and September.

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