Yorkshire duo Chris Silverwood and Joe Root already plotting England’s Test future

Silverwood intends to bring a “little bit of class” to his reign as England head coach, with a focus on reinvigorating the Test team.

The Test team was often the poor relation of Eoin Morgan’s World Cup-winning limited-overs side during the Trevor Bayliss era and there is an appetite to redress the balance, with a pair of Yorkshiremen already plotting their path.

“Job number one is helping Joe, supporting him, making sure the Test team starts moving forward so when we go to Australia in two years time we can make a real impact out there,” said Silverwood.

“Joe and I have had a good, long conversation. I wanted to make sure that from the get go, we were aligned with how we’re going to go about taking the Test team forward. The two of us have an idea of how we want to take things forward.”

The Pontefract-born former Yorkshire pace bowler emerged from a strong field to be named as Bayliss’s successor, promoted from his previous job overseeing the fast bowlers, and was unveiled at Lord’s on Thursday.

It was a first chance for the 44-year-old to lay out his plans for the team and while there were no tubthumping predictions about what could be achieved under his stewardship, the former Essex coach was clear about what kind of team he expects to lead.

“You want to be successful, but it’s how you are successful as well... so it’s winning in the right spirit of the game, winning with a little bit of class and respecting your opposition,” he said.

“Respect is a big word. It’s very easy to talk about, but we’re going to make sure that we respect everything around us, everybody around us, and the game, and make sure that we carry that through.”

Ashley Giles, managing director of men’s cricket at the ECB, gave a fulsome tribute to Silverwood – insisting he was the standout candidate rather than the simply the one who gave the snazziest presentation.

Giles praised his track record as a county championship title winning coach, but Silverwood’s strong bond with red-ball captain Root clearly played a major role too.

Silverwood said: “Some cogs will turn faster than others – I saw exactly the same during my time at Essex – and it may be the fact that we have to give people time to find their feet.”

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