England coach Chris Silverwood refuses to confirm Stuart Broad recall after First Test defeat

Sidelined: Broad was on drinks duty during the First Test defeat in Southampton
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Will Macpherson13 July 2020

England coach Chris Silverwood bemoaned his side’s failure to “grab the game by the scruff of the neck” after they lost to West Indies at the Ageas Bowl, and would not guarantee that Stuart Broad will be recalled for Thursday’s Second Test.

After having one of their twice-weekly tests for Covid-19, the squad will drive to Manchester on Monday in separate cars. They will be joined by Joe Root, who returns as captain at Old Trafford on Thursday with his team 1-0 down in the three-match series.

West Indies chased down 200 with four wickets to spare to complete a hard-earned win in Southampton. Silverwood felt England’s defeat was due to a failure to capitalise on promising positions with the bat, particularly when they lost five for 30 in the second innings after Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley put on 98.

“There were a few times when we could have grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck,” said Silverwood. “The partnership [between Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler] in the first innings, we could have capitalised more on that. Probably more relevantly in the second innings when we managed to get ourselves in a good position, then lost wickets in a rush again.

“Should we have capitalised on that position the game would have been in a different scenario, and they’d have been chasing more runs at the end there, which would have played into our hands.”

Root’s return – probably for Joe Denly but possibly for Crawley – is unlikely to be England’s only change. Broad was controversially left out and is likely to be recalled for James Anderson or Mark Wood. Chris Woakes and Sam Curran may also come into contention.

"We have one or two stiff bodies this morning as you can imagine. I’ve been to see the guys already. But they all seem to have come through well,” said Silverwood.

“We will know more after training [on Tuesday]. We will put them through their paces and see where we are at. Nothing is a given in this team as we’ve seen and people will be playing for their spots. Everything will be considered.”

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