Mark Ramprakash says Chris Silverwood’s sacking was ‘inevitable’ as he describes England coach’s tactics and selections as ‘very confused’ while admitting he was not helped by ‘mitigating circumstances’
- Mark Ramprakash has said it was inevitable Chris Silverwood would be sacked
- The former England cricketer said the coach’s dismissal was ‘a great shame’
- But he said the manner of the Ashes defeat meant his position was untenable
- ‘I think what we saw was some very confused tactics and selection,’ he said
Mark Ramprakash was not surprised at all to see Chris Silverwood sacked as England coach even though he was saddened by his dismissal.
The former England cricketer and batting coach said the decision to dispense with Silverwood was inevitable after England’s resounding 4-0 series defeat to Australia in The Ashes.
And while he admitted Silverwood’s job was made harder due to the pandemic and England’s rotation policy to strengthen the white ball game, he also criticised the coach for his handling of the team.
Mark Ramprakash has said Chris Silverwood’s sacking as England coach was ‘inevitable’
Silverwood was dismissed as England coach weeks after the humiliating Ashes defeat
‘Without a doubt there were mitigating circumstances, absolutely. We should remember that,’ Ramprakash told Sky Sports News.
‘But equally, some of the tactical decisions and selection decisions that were responsibilities given to him by Ashley Giles – so that he had sole power over English cricket for both white ball and red ball – those decisions just did not add up.
‘It wasn’t just one or two people in the cricket world thinking they didn’t understand it. It was virtually every person I spoke to, they just could not believe what was going on in front of them.’
‘We should point out mitigating circumstances with the pandemic and the rotation policy. That didn’t go down that well, and players seemingly were rested and rotated for the benefit of the one day team, not the Test side.
‘And this is where I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Joe Root, whose been carrying the team on his back and been outstanding with his own individual form. But he’s been left in a position without his best side too often, and when you look at the Test side in Australia, to me, it doesn’t have a nucleus.
‘I think it’s been eroded over recent years. As such, they came up against a really good Australia side. Australia had doubts over certain players as well. There were points where it looked like England could exploit that, but they weren’t able to do that.
Ramprakash said captain Joe Root (L) had to carry England on his back with all the turmoil
‘They were thoroughly outplayed. I think you can get outplayed – but it’s just the selection, the tactics, the rest and rotation… too many things just didn’t sit right. As we know, with the Ashes series being so high profile. Chris Silverwood is not the first to lose his job after an Ashes defeat.’
Ramprakash, who became England’s batting coach in 2014, said he felt for Silverwood, who he described as ‘great guy, very personable guy’.
‘You want someone like that to succeed. For him to lose his job, it’s a great shame. He’s an English coach. Within English cricket, the ECB have got schemes where they are trying to establish and promote good English coaches.’
But he did not go easy on Silverwood for some of his decisions and England’s recent performances in Test cricket over the last few years.
‘Having said that, there was an inevitability about it, pure and simple – because, and not just because of the Ashes trip, but during the English summer with the series loss against New Zealand and India at home, which has been such a fortress,’ added Ramprakash.
‘Probably the manner of the defeat…[didn’t help]. Sports fans can often take defeat, as long as they’re seeing some sort of progress or they just simply get beaten by a better side. I think what we saw was some very confused tactics and selection. The manner of the defeats were so one-sided that, really, his job has become untenable.’