ECB promote Chris Silverwood to England head coach role

The ECB have confirmed the appointment of Chris Silverwood as head coach the England Men’s team.

Silverwood has been promoted from the role of bowling coach and will take charge from Trevor Bayliss, who left the post at the conclusion of the Ashes series at the end of the summer.

The ECB’s selection panel of chief executive Tom Harrison, managing director of England’s Men’s Cricket Ashley Giles and head of coach development John Neal, pictured, above, with Silverwood, unanimously agreed that he was the outstanding candidate for the role having impressed during the interview process and demonstrating his intimate knowledge of the current set-up and systems.

Commenting on the appointment of Silverwood, Ashley Giles, said:

“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.

“I believe
he is what we need to take our international teams forward. He is 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.

“He
has performed exceptionally well during his role as an assistant coach and has
the ultimate respect of the players’ that have worked with him.

“Chris
demonstrated in his interview a clear understanding and strategy of how both
the red and white ball teams need to evolve. He has some detailed thoughts on
what it will take to win the Ashes in Australia and win major ICC white-ball
tournaments.

“Over the
past couple of years, he has been an integral member of developing the teams’
culture and emerging a cohesive relationship across the team’s management
group.

“Chris
cares passionately about how we grow and develop the game through the county
network. His relationships with the first-class game, in particular County
Coaches and Directors of Cricket, will be invaluable. Having led Essex to the
County Championship title in 2017, his legacy is very much in evidence this
campaign, which saw Essex win the domestic double of the Specsavers County
Championship and the Vitality Blast.

“Ultimately,
his highest quality is that he is a winner and that will be an important part
of the job as we look to strive to become the most respected team in the world
across all formats.”

Speaking about his appointment, Silverwood added:

“I am
thrilled and honoured to be appointed England Head Coach.

“I aim to
continue the great work that has been done over the past five years and build
on our future, especially in the Test arena.

“I have
enjoyed working with the players over the past two seasons, and developing the
best crop of talent in the English game.

“I am
excited to get started and build teams’ that the whole game can be proud of.
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.”

Silverwood’s
first competitive series as Head Coach will be England’s tour of New Zealand,
which includes a five-match IT20 series starting on November 1 in Christchurch
and two Tests against the Black Caps commencing on November 21 at the Bay Oval,
Mount Maunganui.

Silverwood
played six Tests and seven ODIs for England between 1996 and 2002, but it was
on the domestic circuit that the seamer earned his stripes both as a player and
coach.

He spent
13 years in his native Yorkshire, before finishing his county career with three
seasons at Middlesex. In that time, he took 577 first-class wickets at just
under 28 runs-a-piece.

Following
his retirement, Silverwood joined the coaching staff at Essex in 2010. He was
appointed head coach ahead of the 2016 season, promptly leading them to
promotion that same season and then on to the County Championship title the
following year. His legacy still evident this year when Essex won the double of
the Specsavers County Championship and the T20 Vitality Blast.

At the end of 2017,
he accepted the full-time position as England’s Fast Bowling Coach, working
with the team throughout the last two seasons, which included a home Test
series victory against India in 2018 and the ultimate accolade of this summer’s
ICC World Cup win.