Silverwoodbecomes just the second Englishman to lead the men’s national side in the last 20 years, though Peter Moores held the position on two separate occasions
Chris Silverwood has been announced as England’s new head coach, replacing Trevor Bayliss, who left his role at the end of the summer.
The 44-year-old was appointed as England’s fast-bowling coach in October 2017, before taking on a more prominent role in the national team setup after the departure of assistant coach Paul Farbrace to Warwickshire before the start of the summer.
He becomes just the second Englishman to lead the men’s national side in the last 20 years, though Peter Moores held the position on two separate occasions.
Ashley Giles, England’s director of cricket, described Silverwood as the “standout candidate” as he rubberstamped his appointment on Monday morning.
Yet, reports in recent weeks have shown what an open race it has been for the job vacated by Bayliss at the end of a grueling season that coincided with the end of his contract.
It had long been known that Bayliss would not be staying on, such are the demands on the role, the pressures involved and the time spent away from home. That much was made even clearer in the departure of Farbrace, his trusted assistant, to an all-encompassing job at Edgbaston early in the year.
By Giles’ admission, he was reluctant to truly begin the search for a replacement for the Australian until the end of a campaign that included both a World Cup and Ashes series and he warned of the possibility of a temporary appointment for the New Zealand series, should a lack of time between a protracted season's end and England's depature have required so. That will not now be necessary, with Silverwood beginning immediately.
Silverwood spent much of his playing career at Yorkshire
“We are still going to do nothing now until the Ashes is finished, and we will look to go through a process to find Trevor’s successor,” he said back in July. “I just wanted to reduce all the noise throughout the World Cup and the Ashes and let the guys focus on what’s going on out in the middle.
“It has been a massive summer. We have an opportunity to do something we’ve never done before and likely won’t get a chance to do again. Focus on this now and then we can worry about that after the series.”
It has been reported that Gary Kirsten, the highly respected former India coach, was in line to be offered the job, before failing to impress at the interview stage, opening the door for Silverwood. He had not initially been believed to have had an interest in the job, but that changed after his own circumstances changed. He lost his position as head coach of Royal Challenges Bangalore, opening up the South African’s schedule.
Meanwhile, Ireland coach Graham Ford was mentioned in dispatches as a possibility early on, but he signed an extension to his contract with Ireland in mid-September.
Alec Stewart was also said to be in the running, before pulling out of the process.
Before Chris Silverwood was an England coach, he was an England player. It was never an exceptional stint in international cricket, but he has experienced the pressures of the beast, nonetheless.
He took a single five-wicket haul at Cape Town in 2000, but only played three more Tests.
In total, he took 577 first-class scalps over the course of a domestic career spent mainly at Yorkshire, who he represented for 13 years as part of a battery of local fast bowlers that also included Darren Gough, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Kirby and Matthew Hoggard.
After leaving Headingley in 2006 he spent the remainder of his playing days down at Middlesex, as well as a single season in Zimbabwe playing for Mashonaland Eagles.
Silverwood took a single five-wicket haul for England
Silverwood’s coaching career began almost as his playing career ended, spending four months in a player-coach capacity with Mashonaland, before returning home to become Essex’s bowling coach, where he replaced Graeme Welch.
He spent six years as bowling coach at Chelmsford, also becoming assistant head coach to Paul Grayson in 2014.
By the time he replaced Grayson in the county’s top job in 2016, Silverwood had already been sounded out by England as a man for the future. He worked with England Lions in the winter of 2015, before beating Mickey Arthur, Paul Nixon, Andy Moles and Stuart Law to the Essex post.
In two years as head coach at Chelmsford, his record was unblemished: two seasons, two trophies – promotion one year, the title the next.
Then, England came calling, initially on the hunt for a bowling coach to replace Ottis Gibson. When Farbrace left, Silverwood was promoted to the role of Bayliss’ de facto assistant. Now, however, he is the main man.
The Cricketer understands that an interim bowling coach will be in place for the New Zealand tour, with plans to have someone in the role full-time for the series in South Africa that follows.
Giles is keen for Silverwood to have some autonomy in the appointment of his backroom team, so that decision will be made alongside the new coach.
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