A fight is the last thing we’re scared of and if India pushes us we do the same, warns Chris Silverwood
Silverwood has urged his side to keep the passion going
|England head coach Chris Silverwood has proclaimed that the England squad are not scared of a fight and that they would push India back if the situation demands it. He also went to state that it was an excellent game of cricket, despite the result not going in his team's favour at Lord's.
An exhilarating fifth day ensured an intense climax in the second Test at Lord's where India sealed the victory, which once seemed impossible. The gripping game had multiple instances where the players butted heads and exchanged heated words in the middle. It all started when Jasprit Bumrah targeted James Anderson with a number of short balls and England replicated the same when they tried to intimidate the Indian tail. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were welcomed with multiple short balls but the duo scored combined in an 89-run-stand to propel India's lead to 271.
Chris Silverwood has stated that the intensity between the players has encouraged the England unit to perform better and they are not ready to let the intensity go down.
“The one thing we’re not scared of is a little bit of a fight. They push us, we push back, to me it creates great Test cricket. We’re disappointed with the result, but what a Test match to watch. There has been a little bit of fire in there, emotion from two sets of proud players representing their country. I think it’s great, the guys are getting stuck into this fight and I’m enjoying it,” stated Silverwood.
“Emotions ran high, there’s no doubt about it. Obviously, they targeted Jimmy in that first innings, we went back hard at them as well, and we tried to go toe to toe with them. Maybe it got away from us a little bit when the lower order was in. We’ll learn from that.”
He urged his players to keep the passion going and to capitalize on it in a positive manner for the third Test at Headingley on August 25.
“What I don’t want to do is to lose the passion. I want us to keep that passion and use it in a real positive way. I’d say it gives you energy, it gives you fuel. The good thing is we’ve got a bit of space now, between this Test finishing and Headingley, so they can go home, spend a bit of time with their families, calm down a little bit, clear their minds and come back fresh.”
