SA vs ENG | Have to back both Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, admits Chris Silverwood

England’s coach Chris Silverwood has some decisions to make following the dismal show in the first test against South Africa. Following the first innings exploits with the ball, the English batsmen failed to turn up to the show, collapsing both in the first and the second innings to give the home side a well-deserved victory. 

"England would not be afraid of taking big decisions," said side's coach Chris Silverwood following the loss at Centurion. 

Sam Curran and Jofra Archer, who performed well in the first and second innings respectively with the ball, would be the first choice bowlers going into the second Test, with a spinner being likely to be picked instead of the pace-duo of Broad and Anderson. 

"In Jimmy and Stuart, we have a wealth of experience and we would be really stupid not to take that into consideration for every game. It would be naive of us not to do that," said Silverwood, reported ESPNCricinfo. 

Talking about the duo of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, the English coach suggested that they are the mainstay batsmen down the order. 

"We have just got to keep backing them as we know they're both very fine players. They are an asset to a team. Jonny wasn't in the team going into New Zealand, but he did a lot of work behind the scenes.“

Buttler’s place in the Test side has come under the scanner in the past year after failing to perform in the Ashes series, with him carrying his dismal patch into the South Africa series. While the critics are crying for the right-hander to be axed from the squad, the management still believe he is the right man for the job. 

“Jos is in a position where he will sometimes have to marshal the tail as well. That's the unique challenge of batting at No. 7. But equally, he can go out there, really hurt people at times. At the moment, we feel he's best suited to that position.”