England coach's staggering admission after Ashes thrashings
England coach Chris Silverwood has made the baffling statement that he wouldn't make any changes to the teams he selected for the first two Ashes Tests despite widespread criticism.
Silverwood is the lone selector for the England side, somewhat of a rarity in world cricket.
His decision to leave out veteran stars Stuart Broad and James Anderson for the first Test at the Gabba was widely panned, with spinner Jack Leach copping a hiding from Australia's batters.
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Broad and Anderson were then brought in for the second Test in Adelaide, with Leach and express paceman Mark Wood making way.
But that move backfired spectacularly when the Adelaide pitch spun more than it seamed and swung, with England forced to make the embarrassing move of having Ollie Robinson switch from bowling pace to off-spin on the fourth day.
England bowling coach Jon Lewis admitted it was a mistake not playing a frontline spinner, a move that backfired when Joe Root was forced to miss the majority of the first session on Saturday.
"We felt the ball would move around under the lights a little bit more than it has," Lewis admitted.
"In hindsight, you might say we should have picked a different side."
However Silverwood has since made the staggering admission that he wouldn't change a thing despite England staring at a 2-0 deficit in the series.
“There is always going to be divided opinion,” Silverwood told BBC Sport.
“You pick a team and not everybody’s going to agree with you.”
Asked if the would pick the same teams again, he said: “To be honest, I would.”
“I was happy with the skillset we had in the pink-ball Test, so I would pick the same team again.”
England ignored the warnings of Adelaide Oval's head groundsman Damian Hough.
On match eve, Hough was asked if England would make a mistake by not playing a specialist spinner.
"Yeah, I think so. History says that the pitch will spin," Hough said.
Chris Silverwood admits he is the right man for the job
When asked whether his position as head coach is now on the line, Silverwood replied: “It always is. When you take a job like this you accept that. It is what it is.
"Do I believe I’m the right man? Yes I do or I wouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. You’re under pressure constantly.
“I do believe I can turn it around, I believe I can.
"We have had those honest chats and I believe I have the right coaching staff around me to make that happen as well.”
England now head to Melbourne needing a miracle to come back from 2-0 down after a 275-run loss in Adelaide.
In the first two Tests alone, England's tally of dropped catches is in double-figures and they've taken two wickets from no-balls while having just one batsman reach 10 in all four of his innings.
That desperate tale needs to change dramatically by Boxing Day, with England aiming to become just the second side in history to come back from 2-0 down to win a five-Test series.
That side contained one Sir Donald Bradman, who came back to win the 1936-37 Ashes series.
with AAP
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