CHRISTCHURCH: Chris Silverwood has warned England’s historic World Cup triumph against New Zealand will count for nothing when the two sides clash again.
England won the World Cup for the first time after beating New Zealand in a dramatic Super Over at the end of an improbable final at Lord’s in July.
Now the limited-overs side is off to New Zealand for a five-match Twenty20 International series.
But there will be no time for reminiscing about the achievements of Eoin Morgan’s side as new England coach Silverwood wants his team fully focused on the task at hand.
“I’m sure there will be a few conversations but we are here to focus on the series in front of us,” Silverwood said after his squad arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday. “We have moved on now. Obviously, it was a fantastic game of cricket to be involved in at any level really, it was a real delight of an experience but we have got to move on.
“Obviously there is a different series in front of us now and we have got to concentrate on that.”
Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have not travelled for the series in New Zealand after a draining international summer.
But Silverwood, who has stepped up from England’s backroom staff to replace Trevor Bayliss, wants the replacement players to show their potential.
“They are not here, obviously. But it gives opportunity to other young talent coming through, gives us an opportunity to see them and them an opportunity to express themselves as well,” he said. “One or two of them are having a break but it will be business as usual from a one-day point of view and with the T20s, Eoin Morgan has got a really strong hold on what he wants to do with the team and it is my job to back him up and put those things in place.”
Red-ball cricket remains Root’s priority but the England Test captain is not just going to let upcoming talents shove him out of the Twenty20 squad, the 28-year-old has said.
Root is not a muscular power-hitter and many wonder if he is cut out for the game’s shortest format even though he has a decent average of 35.72 with a 126-plus strike rate in the 32 Twenty20 Internationals he has played.
“For me to get into the T20 side, it will mean that I have to keep getting better,” Root told British media.
“If someone like Tom Banton comes in and sets the world alight, I’ve got to try to force him out in the limited opportunities I get to play.
“If that happens, it raises the standard of English cricket in that format. That’s the food chain that cricket is sometimes. You have to be at the top of it otherwise you get swept away and eaten up.”
Root will return to lead the red-ball side against the Black Caps and he has been using his time to tinker with his game, having managed only one Test century in 18 innings in 2019.
“I know how important it is that Test cricket is my main focus,” said Root. “But as long as the other formats aren’t a distraction or taking away from what I can give to the test team, I’ll always look to improve my game and put myself in as many situations and scenarios which I think will long-term help me as a player.
“I’ve done three sessions and used the head coach at Sheffield Collegiate. He’s called Josh Varley and he’s younger than me.
“From the age of 12 or 13 we’ve thrown balls at each other, all day every day down at Abbeydale. We’ve been doing a bit of work together, not much technical stuff but he’s been doing a lot of flinging.
“I wanted to work on a few things so it’s been good to get back into it. I want to start the winter with a bang and set a marker in terms of making big scores and leading from the front.”
