Ashes 2021-22: Chris Silverwood May End Up Being The Fall Guy For This Tour, Says Alastair Cook

Former England captain Alastair Cook feels that England head coach Chris Silverwood will have a lot of fingers pointing at him.

Last year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ended the national selection panel in order to restructure the board.

Ed Smith was removed from the national selector’s role and the responsibility of selecting the team was added on men’s head coach Chris Silverwood’s shoulders.

Was concerned by the decision to remove Ed Smith from national selector role: Alastair Cook

Cook becomes the second England player after his former teammate Ian Bell to criticise the removal of national selectors and add responsibilities on Silverwood.

“I was concerned by the decision earlier in the year to remove Ed Smith from his role as national selector and put most of the responsibility in the hands of the head coach Chris Silverwood,” Cook wrote in his column for The Times.

“Silverwood may end up being the fall guy for this tour but decision-making above him needs to be scrutinised. Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, has a huge job on his hands to turn around our fortunes in red-ball cricket,” he added.

Coming against all the odds, India defeated Australia 2-1 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Down Under. Cook cited the example of how Justin Langer came back by winning the T20 World Cup and Ashes from the defeat against India to safeguard his reputation.

“A year ago, Australia had lost to India at home and people were wondering whether Justin Langer was the right man to take his country forward. Now Langer has guided his side to a T20 World Cup title and a comprehensive Ashes victory. That is quite a turnaround. England are capable of a similar recovery. They need a reset first, though,” Cook mentioned.

It is a lot for Joe Root to manage: Alastair Cook

Joe Root has now stood as England’s Test
skipper in 59 matches and won 27 out of them. This is his third Ashes series since he led the Three Lions in the 2017/18 tour in Down Under.

Cook, who has also captained England in 59 Test matches, could understand the pressure going around in his successor Root’s head after losing the Ashes. Cook believes that Root can do a better job than what he did in Ashes 2013-14 and expects him to win in the remaining two games.

“Speculation is also mounting around, the future of Joe Root as captain. Interestingly, he has been doing the job about 4½ years, which is roughly the same amount of time I had been in charge for when I stood down after the 4-0 loss in India in 2016,” Cook mentioned.

“Being 3-0 down, the Ashes gone, it is an incredibly tough place for a captain. Joe will have to manage players, coaches, and support staff all with individual agendas. It is a lot for him to manage, and I hope he can do a better job than I did in 2013-14,” he further added.

England will play against Australia in the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the match starts on January 5.

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