England head coach Chris Silverwood on Sunday (August 29) praised the “character” and “confidence” of his team after the hosts’ thumping series-leveling win in the third Test against India in Leeds.
Silverwood further credited the “controlled aggression” for an inspiring comeback in the third Test against India after the humiliating defeat in the third Test at Lord’s.
Both Indian and England players were engaged in plenty of verbal battles during the second Test at Lord’s before the Indian cricket team won the game by 151 runs thanks to their brilliant bowling performance on Day 5. But, in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, England bounced back in a style.
England bowled India out for 78 in the first innings and then put up great batting efforts, scoring 432 runs before restricting the tourists to 278 runs in their second innings to win the third Test by an innings and 76 runs to draw level in the five-match Test series 1-1 in Leeds.
Reflecting back at the third Test, Silverwood said he and the skipper Joe Root went back to the drawing board after Lord’s Test defeat to find the chinks in their armor and their hard work paid off.
Silverwood said during a virtual media interaction: “Joe and I reflected on the Lord's Test and thought about what we could learn and how we could get better. And I think there was a controlled aggression around what they did (at Headingley).”
He continued, “The way they hit the lengths hard, the way they put the India tail under pressure and forced them to make decisions all the time. I think you can be aggressive in a very controlled way and I think they got that right.”
On being asked if India's fieriness drops if they are put under pressure like they were in the third Test at Leeds, the England head coach said: “The key is to get on top of them because we know they are a very good team. Once they get on top it's difficult to stop them.”
He further said, “We put them on the backfoot and we kept the pressure on, so you know, it shows what we can do. The guys executed the game plan very well. It shows once you put people on the back foot, the pressure gets and we can get into them.”
On Root becoming England's most successful captain with 27 Test wins, Silverwood said: “Seeing him become England's most successful captain was superb. It's something I've been looking forward to for a while. He's in a great place at the moment and I'm really enjoying watching him.”
He further added, “I think he's a good Test captain. He is growing and learning all the time. We saw that last week. There's potential there for him to be one of the great England captains. If we win in Australia, we can have this conversation again.”
The coach also said Root had made some tactical errors at Lord's but was quick to realize that the result in Leeds proved it.
He continued, “He reflected on the Lord's Test and some of the decisions he made. He does learn as he goes along and that's a great characteristic for a captain to have: to reflect back honestly and make a difference. And he's certainly made a difference this game.”
Silverwood also hinted that the in-form pacers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson – both played in the first three Tests – could be rested for the fourth Test against India, starting 2 September, to manage their workload, considering the busy schedule ahead.
He signed off by saying, “What I don't want to do is break them. We've got a lot of cricket in front of us. The Tests are coming thick and fast now. They're back-to-back. It is difficult. These guys are giving everything, every day when we're out on the field. We've got to make sure we're looking after them, but I won't be making any decisions or judgments right now until we get to London.”
(With PTI Inputs)
