England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sacked the head coach Chris Silverwood on Friday following England’s humiliating loss in the Ashes series 2021-22. The decision seemed impending after England lost the five-match Ashes series to Australia last month.
The decision to appoint an interim coach is at the hands of Strauss.
Silverwood’s departure gets confirmed 24 hours after the board sacked Ashley Giles as director of men’s cricket on Thursday. He was dismissed after a review from the panel comprising of former England skipper Andrew Strauss, who is currently holding the interim role of Director of men’s cricket since Giles’ sacking. The decision to appoint an interim coach is at the hands of Strauss.
The interim coach would lead the England team for a three-Test series in the West Indies starting March 8.
“During his time in the role, Chris has given absolutely everything to make a success of it. He is a man of great integrity, with who players and staff alike have enjoyed working. Under Chris, England men’s white-ball teams have been ranked first and second in the world while he also led the Test team to a number of series wins, including away in South Africa and Sri Lanka,” Tom Harrison, CEO of the governing body said.
“He has led the England men’s team with great resilience and empathy through an incredibly challenging period for English cricket, and he deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude,” he added.
Richard Dawson, currently the coach of England Young Lions and Under 19-World Cup team is likely to be a contender for the job of interim coach for the West Indies tour.
Silverwood had joined England as the bowling coach in 2017 after helping Essex lift the County championship. He was promoted as head coach in October 2019 and enjoyed a remarkable stint in his early days of appointment, having won series in South Africa, West Indies, and Pakistan. He took a break from the national duty in 2020, as a part of the workload management.
“It’s been an absolute honour to be England head coach, and I’m extremely proud to have worked alongside our players and staff,” Silverwood said.
“I want to thank them all for the hard work and commitment they have given during my time in the role and I wish them all the very best moving forward. “The last two years have been very demanding but I have really enjoyed my time with the team and working with [Joe Root] and [Eoin Morgan], and I am very proud of this group considering the challenges. I leave with fond memories and I am now looking forward to spending some quality time at home with my family and embracing the next chapter,” he added.