The Times - UK (2022-02-03)

66 2GM Thursday February 3 2022 | the times

SportCricket

For all that England faced strong(er)
sides during the past calendar year, and
for all the restrictions imposed by
Covid in the past two years, the undeni-
able truth is that the Test team have
been drifting. There has been an
absence of leadership and authority at
the heart of the operation for which
Ashley Giles, the managing director
and the man ultimately responsible,
has now paid with his job.
It is never pleasant when people get
sacked, especially someone who has
given a considerable amount as player
and administrator, as Giles has, but in
this instance decisive action was neces-
sary after a shambolic Ashes tour. For
now Andrew Strauss, who was Giles’s
predecessor, steps into an interim role
before a permanent replacement is
sought.
It is inconceivable that there will be
no more casualties to follow and it was
a surprise that there was no mention of
Chris Silverwood’s position in the
announcement last night from the
ECB. Given the state of the team during
the Ashes, Silverwood’s position was
thought to be even more vulnerable
and it is hard to see how he will remain
in post given the loss of confidence in
his leadership on the tour.
There has been much talk of a “red-
ball reset” in the aftermath of the Ashes
thrashing and some more fundamental
changes to the structure of English
cricket may come in due course, but a
revamp of the leadership should help
bring some improvement immediately.
A lack of drive and purpose has been
evident, despite the continuing success
of the one-day team which rides high in
the rankings.
After the Ashes, Strauss was asked to
set up a panel to make recommenda-
tions on the back of a lengthy report
written by Giles. The panel of five were
in discussions twice last week, firstly
with Giles, and then again the following
day. Strauss then drew together the
recommendations and Tom Harrison
presented them to the ECB board of
directors on Tuesday. Given the lack of
cricket expertise on that board, a
rubber stamp was inevitable.
Giles has paid the price for the
decline in the performances of the Test
team principally and for failing to get
the big decisions around personnel and
structure right. This year nine Tests
were lost, a record, amid four consecu-
tive series defeats. There has been one
win in the past 14 Tests. Throughout, it
has been difficult to discern any
progression, culminating in a shocking
performance in the Ashes.
The responsibility for the results and
performance of the team should be laid
at the door of the captain and coach par-
ticularly, but in this Giles has found his
fortunes entwined with that of Joe Root,
the Test captain, and Silverwood. He
backed Root for the Ashes a long way

At least the future looks

F

or the first time

since 1998,

England have

reached the final of the

Under-19 Cricket

World Cup (Elgan

Alderman writes).

Awaiting them in

Saturday’s final in

Antigua is India.

Twenty-four years ago,

a side featuring Rob

Key, Chris Schofield,

Owais Shah and

Graeme Swann beat

New Zealand to

become junior world

champions. Here are

four of England’s

youngsters who can

also have big futures.

tom prest

The England captain

has excelled with his

batting and his

leadership. After James

Sales had been dear in

the semi-final, Prest

gave the ball to Ahmed

for that vital over and it

proved a masterstroke.

Prest, 18, who made

his debut for

Hampshire in all three

formats last season, is

England’s leading

runscorer, with a run-

a-ball 93 against

Canada and 154 not out

off 119 against UAE,

both from No 3. He has

taken five wickets with

his off spin.

rehan ahmed

The 17-year-old

Leicestershire leg

spinner with a ripping

googly does not fool

around. He has taken

four-wicket hauls in all

three of his

appearances.

He was expensive in

the semi-final win over

Afghanistan, conceding

41 runs from six overs,

but bowled England to

victory at the death.

Entrusted with the

penultimate over, with

Afghanistan needing 19

runs, Ahmed took the

key wicket of Noor

Ahmad and followed

up with two more

dismissals, only one

run coming off the bat.

jacob bethell

The 18-year-old from

Barbados, right, is

regarded as one of the

best talents in English

Giles had to go and

surely Silverwood

has to follow him

Mike Ather ton

Chief Cricket

Correspondent

out and Silverwood was his appoint-

ment as head coach in October 2019.

Giles not only handpicked Silver-

wood ahead of more able and experi-

enced candidates but then loaded more

responsibility on his shoulders than

any other England head coach of recent

memory by making him responsible for

selection, as well as coaching across

three formats, after the sacking of Ed

Smith last April. It is too much for one

man, no matter how capable.

With the Test team and one-day

team at different stages of their evolu-

tion, there is a need to consider differ-

ent coaching set-ups for different for-

mats. Giles was scarred by his own ex-

periences as England’s one-day coach,

when Andy Flower relinquished one-

day duties, and was reluctant to split the

role. This tied Giles’s own position to

the success or failure of Silverwood.

Of itself, creating a supremo-style

structure may not be a bad thing, but it

places greater emphasis on that supre-

mo being the right man and increases

the risk of upheaval if he is not. The old

system of a national selector, or

chairman of selectors, may have some

disadvantages too, especially if the

relationship between individuals is

problematic, as it was between Smith

and Giles. To solve a personality

problem, Giles changed the structure.

Giles was keen to pass off responsibil-

ity for the Ashes failure by emphasising

the structural weaknesses of county

cricket, the disadvantages of the sched-

ule and the limitations imposed by

Covid restrictions. While none of these

factors can be discounted — and

indeed elicit a great deal of sympathy —

Giles’s press conference in Sydney was

self-serving and his report is likely to

have been similarly so.

Giles would argue, perhaps fairly,

that Covid has placed more strain on

the system than any other director of

cricket has had to bear. Covid, and the

requirement to keep the game going for

financial reasons, has forced players

and coaches into bubbles that were suf-

focating in the early stages of the pan-

demic and have produced a weariness

since that impacted upon performance.

Giles would contend that these consid-

erations provide mitigation.

But the mistakes in the Ashes were

manifest and a well-intentioned desire

to rest and rotate has produced a team

with no solid spine or core. The limp

conclusion to the Ashes series suggest-

ed a team who had lost all motivation

and confidence. On what should have

been the last two playing days of the

match in Hobart, Giles was collating

opinion from senior players about the

tour in general and the leadership in

particular. It is unlikely to have made

pretty hearing.

Appointed in January 2019, Giles’s

term has been relatively short-lived,

like that of his predecessor but one,

Paul Downton. In between came

Strauss, who shapes as the king-maker

in an organisation bereft of cricket

knowledge. Strauss may be ready for a

more formal role than that of a non-

voting member of the board of direct-

ors, chairman of the cricket committee

and interim director of cricket. He is top

class and would be an asset in any role.

England in the Giles era

In Tests

In one-day internationals

In T20s

Played

38

Played

40

Played

43

Won

14

Drawn

7

Lost

17

Lost

11

No

result

4

No

result

1

Tied

1

Tied

1

Lost

14

Won

24

Won

27

113

4-0

Years since England had last

averaged fewer runs per wicket

(20.21) in an Ashes

Only three times have England

suffered a bigger Ashes defeat -

the 5-0 whitewashes in 1920-21,

2006-07 and 2013-14

852.3

Overs it took Australia to clinch

the series by winning the first

two Tests. Only twice - in 2001

and 1921 - has an Ashes series

been lost in fewer

England's next challenge

First Test v West Indies, Antigua,

March 8-12

Second Test v West Indies,

Bridgetown, March 16-20

Third Test v West Indies, Grenada,

March 24-28

Rory Burns is bowled first ball of the first Test, setting the tone for England’s 4-0