England coach Chris Silverwood has made the staggering claim that he’d pick the same starting side for the first two Ashes Tests, even if he had his time again.
The tourists were hammered by nine wickets in Brisbane and 275 runs in Adelaide, and now face the mountainous task of needing to win all three remaining Test matches to regain the Ashes.
Only Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australian side has turned a 2-0 series deficit into a 3-2 victory.
READ MORE: Disgraced NRL star hammered in boxing debut
READ MORE: Hamilton’s dramatic F1 loss sparks death threats
READ MORE: Iconic cricket commentator hangs up the mic
The selection of England’s bowling attack has puzzled experts and fans alike, with the country’s two most prolific Test wicket-takers of all time, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, both overlooked for Brisbane.
That match saw spinner Jack Leach mauled by the Australian batsman, meaning England then went into the second match in Adelaide with five fast bowlers.
“There is always going to be divided opinion,” Silverwood told the BBC.
“You pick a team and not everybody’s going to agree with you.”
Asked if he’d pick the same sides for the first two Tests, a defiant Silverwood dug in, displaying more backbone than many of the English batters.
“To be honest, I would,” he said.
“I was happy with the skillset we had in the pink-ball Test, so I would pick the same team again.”
Following Australia’s convincing win in Adelaide, England captain Joe Root suggested his bowlers had made the same mistake they made in 2017-18, namely pitching too short.
“I don’t think we bowled the right lengths,” Root said.
That resulted in a the English skipper copping a ferocious spray from former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who said it was Root’s responsibility to get the bowlers to adjust their length during the match, not complain about it afterwards.
“I nearly fell off my seat when I heard that,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“Whose job is it then to make them change? Why are you captain then?
“If you can’t influence your bowlers on what length to bowl, what are you doing on the field?
“Joe Root can come back and say whatever he likes but if you’re captain, you’ve got to be able to sense when your bowlers aren’t bowling where you want them to.
“And if they’re not going to listen, you take them off, simple as that.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!