Ashley Giles: "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."
Monday 7 October 2019 16:14, UK
Chris Silverwood has been confirmed as the new head coach of the England men’s cricket team.
The 44-year-old former Middlesex, Yorkshire and England fast bowler is promoted from his role as England bowling coach and takes over from Trevor Bayliss, who left the role after The Ashes after four years in charge.
Silverwood played six Tests and seven one-day internationals for England between 1996 and 2002 and becomes only the second Englishman to coach the national team on a full-time basis since 1999.
The 44-year-old - who led Essex to the county championship title as head coach in 2017 - was the unanimous choice of the ECB selection panel, which consisted of chief executive officer Tom Harrison, managing director of England's Men's Cricket Ashley Giles and head of coach development John Neal.
Giles said: "We are delighted to confirm Chris as England Men's head coach. We have gone through a thorough process and looked at all the options that were available to us. 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.
"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.
We have gone through a thorough process and looked at all the options that were available to us. Chris was the standout candidate.
"Over the past couple of years, he 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 series as head coach will be England's tour of New Zealand, which includes a five-match IT20 series starting on November 1 in Christchurch and two Tests, beginning on November 21 at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
"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."
