Chris Silverwood was hailed as the standout candidate with an intimate knowledge of English cricket after being appointed as head coach of the men’s national team.
Silverwood, 44, steps up from his current role of fast bowling coach within the set-up to take charge overall, replacing Trevor Bayliss after the Australian’s departure at the end of the 2019 home summer that saw the World Cup secured.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be appointed England head coach,” said Silverwood. “I aim to continue the great work that has been done over the past five years and build on our future, especially in the Test arena.
“I have enjoyed working with the players over the past two seasons, and developing the best crop of talent in the English game. I am excited to get started and build teams’ that the whole game can be proud of.
“There is a tremendous amount of talent coming through, and there is enormous potential for growth. The hard work starts now, and I am confident we can make a positive impact during our winter tours of New Zealand and South Africa.”
Silverwood emerged from a process in which the England and Wales Cricket Board spoke to the likes of Gary Kirsten, Ottis Gibson – who has enjoyed two spells as England’s bowling coach – and Alec Stewart, who currently works as Surrey’s director of cricket.
Explaining how Silverwood unanimously won the support of an interview panel that also included ECB chief executive Tom Harrison, as well as John Neal, the head of coach development, Giles said: “Chris was the standout candidate. I believe he is what we need to take our international teams forward.
“He is somebody we know well, but it is his intimate understanding of our structures and systems and his close relationships with Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Eoin Morgan that will help us develop our plans for the next few years. He has performed exceptionally well during his role as an assistant coach and has the ultimate respect of the players’ that have worked with him.”
Giles added: “Chris demonstrated in his interview a clear understanding and strategy of how both the red and white ball teams need to evolve. He has some detailed thoughts on what it will take to win the Ashes in Australia and win major ICC white-ball tournaments.”
Giles was always keen to appoint an English candidate if possible, with Silverwood, the former Yorkshire seamer, just the second to hold the position in the past 20 years after spells for Peter Moores from 2007 to 2009 and then 2014 to 2015.
Giles added: “Over the past couple of years [Silverwood] has been an integral member of developing the teams’ culture and emerging a cohesive relationship across the team’s management group.
“Chris cares passionately about how we grow and develop the game through the county network. His relationships with the first-class game, in particular County Coaches and Directors of Cricket, will be invaluable.
“Having led Essex to the County Championship title in 2017, his legacy is very much in evidence this campaign, which saw Essex win the domestic double of the Specsavers County Championship and the Vitality Blast. Ultimately, his highest quality is that he is a winner and that will be an important part of the job as we look to strive to become the most respected team in the world across all formats.”
Silverwood’s first assignment in full charge is the tour to New Zealand that departs at the end of this month, before further trips to South Africa and Sri Lanka this winter. England’s focus may be returning to Test cricket after the summer’s one-day success but there are also T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021 that will targeted.