Following Chris Silverwood’s departure, Paul Collingwood has been appointed as England’s interim head coach. After England’s dismal 0-4 collapse in the Ashes last month, Silverwood experienced a lot of criticism, and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) now has made a replacement with Collingwood.
Collingwood will be in charge of the team’s play for the time ahead. It should be mentioned that the former all-rounder has been a member of the team’s support personnel for quite some time. Since the COVID-19 virus entered the scene, England has had two bio-bubbles teams for Test and white-ball games. Though Silverwood was in command of the Test squad, Collingwood, the assistant coach, was in command of the white-ball teams.
Paul Collingwood Interim Head Coach For WI Tests :
I am genuinely excited to be leading the Test team: Collingwood
Collingwood completely ignored the progress of the team in the last T20I series versus the West Indies. As a result, Andrew Strauss, the interim managing director of the England team, has allowed his former teammate to stay in the role for the time being.
“I am genuinely excited to be leading the Test team for the tour of the Caribbean,” Collingwood said. “I can’t wait to get started. Having a challenging Test series against the West Indies straight off the back of the Ashes disappointment gives us a chance from now to reset and rebuild”, he added.
“Playing Test matches for England is the highest accolade in the game. My objective is to give players clarity, direction, and encouragement for them to start building something special”.
“I have spoken to Joe Root and Ben Stokes ,and both are excited and passionate to take the team forward in this new cycle. Although they know it won’t be easy, they have the desire and bravery to do things differently to ensure the team can prosper. We have an opportunity to get back on track.”
However, Collingwood’s appointment as an assistant coach would keep the present coaching staff constant. This would also offer Strauss some fresh room to work on finding and assembling strong support personnel for the upcoming home international schedule, which begins in June. Collingwood’s first challenge will be a 3-match Test series in West Indies the following month.
Furthermore, Silverwood thanked ECB for providing him the job at the forefront following his departure. Simultaneously, he mentioned that the last few years had been extremely challenging.
It’s been an absolute honour to be England Head Coach: Silverwood
“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 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,” said Silverwood.
“The last two years have been very demanding but I have really enjoyed my time with the team and working with Rooty (Joe Root) and Morgs (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.
