[ad_1]
Chris Silverwood insisted the off-field resentment sparked by Ollie Robinson’s historic tweets was not to blame for the poor batting performance that leaves England on the brink of losing their first home series since 2014.
The England and Wales Cricket Council has announced that it will begin a review of social media use after the publication of earlier posts from Robinson and others last week which, in the eyes of the forum leadership, have seriously diminished inclusive sports aspirations.
Sanctions were not ruled out, but despite this storm that engulfed Joe Roots’ side in preparation for the second test against New Zealand, head coach Silverwood dismissed any suggestion that was bleeding in their game. .
Speaking after day three, with England falling to 122 for nine and leading by just 37 points, Silverwood said: We have gone to great lengths to make sure the noise outside has been dampened to try to focus on cricket.
Obviously it’s not easy, but that’s what we had to try to do because we had a test match to try to participate.
Silverwood admitted he felt for England’s bowlers after their wholehearted effort to keep New Zealand’s opening innings just 85 points were thrown by the batsmen on either side of the tea. Lose tomorrow and it will be the first loss at home since Sri Lanka won a 1-0 victory seven years ago.
England’s impressive debut on the Test was overshadowed by the argument over his offensive and historic tweets. Photograph: Adam Davy / AP
Obviously, it’s not good enough, Silverwood said. We have to improve, there is no doubt. Now, think about it, if we ever want to sit down where New Zealand is now. We always knew it would be a tough question with the young batting team we have, but there were a lot of lessons to be learned.
Rest, rotation and the steadfast Indian Premier League kept England from picking their strongest eleven all year. Silverwood is hoping that Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler returning for the Indian series in August will help here, although he couldn’t help but put that in the context of the Ashes later in the year.
The Spin: sign up and receive our weekly cricket email
He said: Getting Buttler and Stokes back will help them. We have seen in the past that you put inexperienced players in between experienced players and it helps them learn. I think we’re definitely talking about what we were going to be like before we went to Australia. I would like to start galvanizing this team, certainly through the India series.
Asked about the prospect of recalling Dawid Malan, who claims a century of testing in Perth and made 199 for Yorkshire during one of his fleeting appearances for the county last week, Silverwood replied: I will keep my mind wide open, it’s for definitely. So if people run away, I’ll notice it.
[ad_2]
picture credit