England coach cops brutal sacking after Ashes disaster
In a move that will surprise very few cricket fans, England have parted ways with head coach Chris Silverwood in the wake of the team's disastrous Ashes tour.
On the coaching hotseat from the outset after England suffered a one-sided drubbing in the first Test in Brisbane, Silverwood has stepped down and will be replaced by an interim coach for England's upcoming red-ball tour of the West Indies.
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In addition to Silverwood's departure, England's managing director of men's cricket, Ashley Giles, has also taken the decision to step down following the disastrous 4-0 series defeat.
Both Silverwood and Giles made their decisions after a report on the dismal Ashes tour was submitted to the England Cricket Board last week.
Former England player Andrew Strauss has stepped into Giles' role until a permanent replacement is chosen.
Despite Silverwood's tenure ending under unfortunate circumstances, the ECB's chief executive paid tribute to the outgoing coach's good record.
"During his time in the role Chris has given absolutely everything to make a success of it," Harrison said.
"He is a man of great integrity, who players and staff alike have enjoyed working with.
"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.
"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.
"In the coming days, Andrew Strauss will appoint a caretaker coach for the tour of the West Indies and will then consider the appropriate coaching structures to help England move forwards."
Poor England results catch up with coach Chris Silverwood
Silverwood has paid the price for a poor 2021 red-ball campaign in which England lost nine of the 15 Tests, which included series losses away to India and at home to New Zealand.
The 46-year-old first joined the set-up at the beginning of 2018 as bowling coach before he was promoted to become Australian Trevor Bayliss' replacement at the end of the drawn 2019 Ashes.
A big part of Silverwood's remit was to improve performances in Tests after his predecessor had overseen a reset of white-ball cricket which culminated in Eoin Morgan's side being able to lift the 50-over World Cup three years ago.
While the unexpected challenge of the coronavirus pandemic brought plenty of problems early into his tenure, the reign of the former Yorkshire bowler will be remembered for batting collapses and a regular issue of failing to deliver big first-innings runs.
Silverwood said: "It's been an absolute honour to be England head coach and I'm extremely proud to have worked alongside our players and staff.
"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."
Giles said: "The past couple of years have been incredibly challenging and I'm proud of what we've been able to deliver in the toughest of circumstances. This has undoubtedly protected the future of the game in England and Wales.
"Despite these challenges, over the past three years, we have become 50-over world champions, the top ranked T20I side in the world, we remain (the) fourth ranked Test team and our under-19s have just reached the World Cup final for the first time in 24 years."
With AAP
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