Chris Silverwood Hopeful of Other Batsmen Rallying Around Joe Root

England head coach Chris Silverwood is keen on the batting order to fire in unison around skipper Joe Root, who has been doing the bulk of the scoring in the last few Tests. In the first Test against India at Trent Bridge, Root top-scored in both innings, notching up a hundred in the second to save England from a certain defeat.

The batting line-up apart from Root has had a tough time scoring even at home, and that has forced England to over-rely on the skipper, according to Silverwood. Both Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley got starts but failed to kick on to convert it into something significant.

“I mean Joe’s been phenomenal for the last six months really scoring runs for us. And what we need to do is make sure that the guys that are batting with him are coming to the party as well. So that’s one thing which we’re talking about in the dressing room constantly. And it’s something that I’ve spoken to the batting coaches as well.”

“Encourage conversations between the players and the coaches to try and find a solution for this to try and help them get better. It’s not through lack of effort. It’s not a lack of hard work, it’s just a case of we have to try and find a formula that works. That’s a work in progress at the moment,” the head coach pointed out.

Haseeb Hameed on the verge of England return says, Chris Silverwood

Having dropped out of favor after a dry spell, Haseeb Hameed is all set to make a comeback at the top if English openers continue to struggle. Haseeb scored a well-measured century for County Select XI in the warm-up game against India last month.

“I’m confident he’s as ready as he could be. He put his best foot forward in Durham when he scored that hundred and what he did an early season in the championship shows there’s a lot of class there as well. I think he is making a very strong case and at some point, we may make a decision and give him an opportunity,” Silverwood revealed.

The second of the 5-match Test series will be played at Lord’s from August 12-16.