England Head Coach Chris Silverwood (centre) with their Batting Coach Graham Thorpe (left) and Paul Collingwood[/caption]
England cricket team’s Head Coach Chris Silverwood has said on Friday (14) that he will hand over the reins of the England ODI side to his assistants during the summer when Sri Lanka are to tour England for a six-match white-ball series.
Silverwood is to take a break after his team’s two Tests against New Zealand. He will hand over the reins of the England ODI side to his assistants for the series against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan, starting late June.
Logic behind the move
Sri Lanka are scheduled to play three T20Is between 23 and 26 June before playing another three-match ODI series between 29 June and 4 July at venues in Wales, Hampshire, Durham, Bristol, and London.
Silverwood’s assistants Paul Collingwood and Graham Thorpe are to take charge of their ODI side during that period.
“The fact that Silverwood will be available for all England’s Tests and T20Is might be interpreted, by some, as a reflection of the diminishing importance of ODI cricket. But it is more to do with where we are in the current international cycle, with two T20 World Cups scheduled within the next 18 months and the next 50-over World Cup not until 2023,” one report added explaining the possible logic behind England Head Coach’s latest move.
A rest-and-rotation policy
After Sri Lanka, Pakistan are scheduled to tour England in another back-to-back limited-over series comprising three ODIs and three T20Is. The six matches are to be staged between 8 to 22 July.
“It’s not fair on the players if I am operating at less than 100% and it is not fair on myself either,” Silverwood has told the British media.
“Thorpey (Thorpe) will do one and Colly (Collingwood) will do the other, and I’ll use it as my break to refresh and get ready for what is ahead of us.”
England have already adopted “a rest-and-rotation policy” for its players to tackle a relentlessly busy schedule. As said above, England will play 12 white-ball games, after their two Test matches against the Kiwis, within just one-month period.
Difficult to switch off from job
This will be followed by a five-match home Test series against India beginning on 4 August when Silverwood is expected to return to the helm of England coaching.
“I’m not going to deny it’s not easy for me,” he has said commenting about switching off from his job.
“Obviously I am wholly on board with what we are doing. I am very embedded in it now. I do find it hard to switch off but I’ll do my best,” Silverwood had added.
Sri Lanka to begin hectic schedule
England are expected to name their Test squad for the series against top-ranked New Zealand early this week.
Ashley Giles, the Managing Director of England men’s cricket, has previously suggested that players who participated in the Covid-19-hit Indian Premier League (IPL) are unlikely to feature in the Test series, which begins on 2 June.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka are to start off a hectic schedule for the remainder of 2021 by touring Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series this week before their England tour.