ENG vs NZ | High time we stop talking and start turning starts into big scores, states Chris Silverwood
Chris Silverwood has asked his inexperienced side to deliver instead of talking and turn early starts into big scores after the Joe Root-led side collapsed against New Zealand on the third day of the second Test. The England coach also told his players to check New Zealand's application of methods.
England’s batting collapse in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test against a vehement New Zealand pace attack has raised many questions on their techniques and approach that needs to be considered by the team management. Starting their second innings, trailing by 85 runs, the Three Lions found themselves in a pandemonium, at 122/9 at the end of the day.
The Three Lions' head coach Chris Silverwood, who was terribly rejected with the batting, asked his team to deliver on the pitch rather than talking about it outside, stressing on the batsmen to carry on the good starts into a competitive score.
"When do we stop talking and start delivering? I think we need to start seeing starts turned into big scores now. That's one thing we're looking for: people pushing on and being greedy when they get in," Silverwood addressed in his press conference.
"It's obviously not good enough. We need to improve, there's no doubt about that. There are things to work on without a shadow of a doubt. No one is going to hide from that or deny it,” he added.
In England’s overnight score of 122/9, their top-six batsmen aggregated 59 runs, not even half of their total margin. Silverwood feels the young batters have failed to bank upon the given opportunity and demanded improvement from them.
"I'm not going to lie: I thought it was a great opportunity for some of the younger lads to come in and stamp their mark on the game. I'm sure one or two will be disappointed they haven't been able to do that,” Silverwood said.
England skipper Joe Root has played 105 Tests, which is 18 more than the combined Tests played by their top-seven batsmen. Silverwood terms this batting order as an inexperienced one and asserts that once wicket-keeper Jos Buttler and all-rounder Ben Stokes return to the side, the youngsters will be boosted up.
"Let's have a little bit of perspective. We have got a very young batting line-up with limited experience. Joe Root is the one guy you would say has a heap of experience in that top seven. Getting the experience of Buttler and Stokes back will help the young players, as well. We've seen in the past that, if you put the inexperienced players in between the experienced ones, it helps them learn. That's what I'm hoping will happen in the India series,” Silverwood asserted.
"We need to get that batting line-up more solid and start playing the game plan we're aiming for. That's big first-innings runs, big partnerships and big individual scores,” he added.
New Zealand, who had made six changes in the second Test, have found themselves in a comfortable position against England to win the series ahead of the WTC final match. Silverwood has asked his players to learn their lessons and compare them with New Zealand’s application to the game.
"There were plenty of lessons out there to learn from. It's a case of watching and learning what we can from how the New Zealand players go about their business, the methods they use and the way they apply themselves."