England coach Silverwood set for summer break during SL, Pakistan ODI series

Chris Silverwood says he will hand over the reins to Paul Collingwood and Graham Thorpe this summer to ensure he takes a break in a congested year.

England coach Chris Silverwood. - AP

England head coach Chris Silverwood on Friday said he will hand over the reins to the one-day international side this summer to ensure he takes a break in a congested year.

Silverwood will miss England’s home ODI matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan from late June to mid-July, with his assistants Paul Collingwood and Graham Thorpe taking charge of the team for one series each. Having been part of England’s tours of Sri Lanka and India earlier this year, Silverwood said it was important to keep the backroom staff “as fresh as possible.”

'Not fair on the players'

“It’s not fair on the players if I am operating at less than 100 percent and it is not fair on myself either,” Silverwood told British media.

“Thorpey will do one and Colly will do the other and I’ll use it as my break to refresh and get ready for what is ahead of us.”

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England has already adopted a rest-and-rotation policy for its players to tackle a relentlessly busy schedule. After hosting seven tests as well as the 12 white-ball internationals, England is scheduled to tour Pakistan and Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for October.

Joe Root’s Test side then faces a trip Down Under for the Ashes series against Australia, followed by a tour of the Caribbean at the start of next year.

'Not easy'

Silverwood is not yet sure whether he will have a break in that time.

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“I’m not going to deny – it’s not easy for me,” he said, of switching off from his job. “Obviously I am wholly on board with what we are doing. I am very embedded in it now. I do find it hard to switch off but I’ll do my best.”

England is expected to name its Test squad for the series against top-ranked New Zealand early next week.

Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, has previously suggested that players who participated in the COVID-19-hit Indian Premier League are unlikely to feature in the Test series, which begins on June 2.

England IPL players may miss NZ Tests England is likely to rest its Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 players for the Test series against New Zealand in order to give the cricketers a break. According to a report in BBC , England players who featured in IPL 2021 before the tournament was postponed will not be hurriedly picked for the Test series. Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, and Jonny Bairstow all played at least a game in the postponed IPL and are now in mandatory 10-day isolation after returning to the UK. BBC reported that the quarantine period is about to get over this weekend and it is unlikely that the England IPL contingent would be rushed back for the Test series. "What we do know and what's not going to change is that given the weight of cricket, given the Ashes series, and we don't know what conditions that's going to be played in with regard to a Covid environment, we are going to need a bigger group of players. We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces," ESPNcricinfo quoted Giles as saying. - report by ANI