"Worrying about myself is at the bottom of the list" - Chris Silverwood focused on winning the last two Ashes Tests
England head coach Chris Silverwood has shrugged off questions about his position in the team and wants to avoid another Ashes whitewash. Silverwood admits England have questions to answer after their poor performance. However, his current focus is on the remaining two Tests.
England surrendered their quest to regain the Ashes urn in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, folding for 68 in the second innings. The visitors suffered another heavy defeat following their crushing losses in Brisbane and Adelaide in the first two Tests.
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Chris Silverwood, whose spot has come under intense scrutiny, said he is hardly worried about himself. Silverwood stated that even though England have lost the series, the last two Tests are crucial and insists the team can revive their fortunes. The former England cricketer said, as quoted by The Guardian:
"Worrying about myself is at the bottom of the list, to be honest. What we have to do is look forward to the next two Tests, stay positive if we can and make sure we are there, we compete and we take something from this tour. I do feel like I am capable of leading this team to winning things and that’s what I’m going to stay focused on and that’s all I can do."
England's feeble batting line-up has been overly reliant on captain Joe Root for runs. While Root has amassed over 1700 runs this year, the other batsmen have hardly stood up, contributing to a woeful period in the format for England. The changes in the line-up haven't produced any rewards either.
"I don’t want to be going back having lost 5-0" - Chris Silverwood
Silverwood further highlighted the need to confront some harsh truths after the tour regarding their first-class structure. But his current focus is on getting a win under his belt. The 46-year-old said:
"I think at this moment in time the sole focus is how do I get the best out of these players to make sure we compete for the next two Tests? I don’t want to be going back having lost 5-0. I want to win games over here. There’s certainly things that we have got to look at and we will look at, at the end of this tour."
Silverwood added:
"But I just don’t think those conversations are for right now. I think we’ve got to deal with what’s in front of us because we’ve got two Test matches coming up."
The fourth Ashes Test starts on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.