Broad defends Root and Silverwood after England’s Ashes humiliation

Chris Silverwood and Joe Root have come in for criticism after England’s 4-0 defeat in the Ashes but Stuart Broad has defended the pair.

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Stuart Broad has defended captain Joe Root and head coach Chris Silverwood following England ‘s 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes.

There has been speculation about the futures of both Root and Silverwood, with ECB chief Tom Harrison saying the Ashes is a “brilliant opportunity” for a reset.

However, Broad has supported the pair, stating he has “a huge amount of sympathy for both of them” and that he “cannot recall a more difficult two years for anyone to have been captain or coach” due to the impact of the coronavirus on England’s schedule.

“There has been speculation about the leadership positions of the England Test team in the aftermath of the Ashes series defeat but I think it’s important to place things into context,” he wrote in his column for the Mail on Sunday.

“In my lifetime I cannot recall a more difficult two years for anyone to have been captain or coach. We have played an extortionate amount of Test cricket.

“We’ve changed our players considerably to look after mental health – we’ve made 47 changes of personnel in 15 Tests. Compare that to the rest of the world and I’d be surprised if anyone is anywhere near that level of turnover.

“It’s been incredibly tough for both Joe Root and Chris Silverwood to get any consistency in playing XIs or in the coaching staff and that makes it hard to reinforce the messages you are trying to get across to the team.

“I have a huge amount of sympathy for both of them.

“From a leadership point of view, operating to such a saturated calendar and having to implement so many changes must make it virtually impossible to plan.

“In Australia this winter, no one could plan for the weather we had in the build-up, the lack of competitive warm-up matches and facilities, or the Covid outbreaks we had to contend with. These are not excuses for losing, but they are reasons.”