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Ajmal Shahzad continued the positive start to his Lancashire career with two key wickets against Middlesex

Myles Hodgson at Aigburth24-May-2012
ScorecardEarly wickets gave Lancashire the advantage after a strong first innings total•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s hierarchy have made their views on Ajmal Shahzad abundantly clear, but even the most suspicious of Lancastrians is beginning to be won around by his commitment to lift their fortunes following his controversial loan move across the Pennines.Criticised for his general attitude by Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s outspoken chief executive, following their decision to release the first British Asian player to represent the county, he has attempted to distance himself from those remarks by reminding the cricket community that he is equally able to grab the headlines for his performances on the field.Two wickets in his maiden over for Lancashire against Sussex, which included a wicket with his first delivery, have now been followed up an influential spell to enable the Champions – still looking for their first win of the season – to gain control in the Aigburth sunshine against a strong Middlesex line-up.”Ajmal has fitted in really well, he tries his heart out and is always willing to bowl,” said his new team-mate, Kyle Hogg. “He’s a great bowler and a more than useful batsman as well. Having him here is good competition and it lifts everyone else’s game because you know if you don’t perform to certain levels there are people waiting in the wings.”We have Sajid Mahmood and Oliver Newby not playing in this game – it’s how it should be, if you are not performing people should take your place, it brings the best out of players.”Shahzad’s fiery six-over burst after tea built on fine new ball spells from Glen Chapple, Lancashire’s captain, and Hogg that accounted for both openers. Shahzad opened his account by tempting Joe Denly into chasing a wide delivery, which flew to point, but then claimed the crucial wicket of Eoin Morgan, playing his first Championship innings since last July.His county cricket opportunities limited by England and IPL commitments, Morgan looked in good touch when he lofted Simon Kerrigan’s left-arm spin over midwicket for six to get off the mark.However, perhaps indicating a rustiness in his game having not played a first-class match since the final Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi last February, Morgan failed to spot an inswinging delivery from Shahzad, bowling from the River End, in the next over and when he tried to drive, the ball crashed into his stumps off an inside edge. The Aigburth crowd, basking in the late afternoon sunshine, were almost as excited as Shahzad at the breakthrough.Kerrigan was able to dismiss Dawid Malan with a catch to bat-pad five overs later to leave Middlesex struggling on 95 for 5 and it took an unbroken 60-run stand between Neil Dexter and John Simpson to prevent them from collapsing in the final session.Middlesex’s fortunes were similar to Lancashire’s with the bat. They resumed with sights set on reaching 400 for only the second time this summer on 276 for 4, but lost six for 71 and were dismissed for 392.Ashwell Prince, Lancashire’s South African overseas batsman, began the collapse when he was superbly caught by Ollie Rayner at slip driving at Gareth Berg for 144 after resuming on 121. Confidence lifted by that reflex catch, Rayner went on to claim 3 for 88 with his offspin as Lancashire went in search of quick runs to advance the game.Facing a tricky 15 overs before tea, Middlesex suffered a bad start when Chris Rogers edged a lifting delivery from Hogg behind and Sam Robson fell lbw to a full length ball from Chapple that may have kept a little low. The afternoon sunshine, though, belonged to Shahzad.Advised by his management company to avoid media interviews while the controversy over his switch continues, it was left to Hogg to reflect on Shahzad’s impact since arriving at Old Trafford.””He got a few good luck messages on Twitter when he signed for us!”joked Hogg. “Him and Saj are pretty much identical in character and it is good to have them around, especially on days like today when it can be tough going. They keep everyone going.”

Eoin Morgan will captain England Lions in their two-match series against Australia A next month

Andrew McGlashan27-Jul-2012Eoin Morgan will captain England Lions in their two-match series against Australia A next month. The 13-man squad for the four-day matches at Old Trafford and Edgbaston includes three others with Test experience while every player has previously represented the Lions.Morgan, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow and James Tredwell have Test caps to their name, while Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, James Taylor and Chris Woakes have also played one-day internationals.The inclusion of cricketers who already play regular international cricket – such as Morgan, Kieswetter and Patel – shows how seriously the selectors are taking the matches ahead of the back-to-back Ashes series next year rather than using it as a chance to purely blood youth.However, they stopped short of naming any of the current Test reserves such as Graham Onions or Steven Finn who are both in the mix to face South Africa at Headingley. The Australia A squad, which is led by Ed Cowan contains considerable experience, most notably Mitchell Johnson.For Morgan the series is a chance to restate his Test credentials after his poor series against Pakistan earlier this year which led to him being dropped for the following tour of Sri Lanka. Since then Patel, Bairstow and now Ravi Bopara have been given middle-order roles in the Test team. However, Morgan showed impressive form in the recent one-day series against Australia including a match-winning, unbeaten 89 at Lord’s.With Bopara making an uncertain return to the Test side against South Africa and Bairstow struggling against West Indies earlier this season the No. 6 spot is yet to be cemented and a strong finish to the summer – with the Lions and Middlesex – will put Morgan back in contention.Elsewhere the squad is a mixture of experienced county cricketers – Patel, Tredwell and the leading run-scorer of the season Nick Compton – plus young players who have already been integrated into the England set up. Taylor and Joe Root, who recently scored a double hundred in the Championship, are among the next generation of batsmen vying for an opportunity while Stuart Meaker is one of the quickest bowlers in the country.Tredwell is accompanied in the spin department by Lancashire’s Simon Kerrigan who was part of the squad to face the West Indians earlier this season but did not make the final XI at Wantage Road. From the team that won that match by 10 wickets, Michael Carberry (injury), Jack Brooks and Jade Dernbach are not in this squad along with Ian Bell who used that game as Test preparation.Although the selectors see these two matches as crucial to the development of Test players they are likely to create further tensions with counties who will lose key names for Championship matches as the competiton enters its final third.Squad
Jonny Bairstow, Matt Coles, Nick Compton, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan (capt), Samit Patel, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris WoakesFixtures
August 7, Old Trafford
August 14, Edgbaston

Gareth Batty effectively admitted that he made a mistake “in the heat of battle” in not withdrawing appeal after Murali Kartik after he had run out a Somerset batsman while backing up

David Lloyd at Taunton30-Aug-2012A contrite Gareth Batty effectively admitted that he made a mistake “in the heat of battle” in not withdrawing the appeal that resulted in Somerset’s Alex Barrow being run out for backing-up too far – a practice known outside England at least as ‘Mankading.’The Surrey captain accepted full responsibility for the decision and said: “The last thing I wanted was to bring the spirit of cricket into disrepute.”Although it has always been strictly acceptable within the laws, ‘Mankading’ is regarded by many within the English game as being a breach of etiquette and is an unpalatable act for many players, as well as fans.County cricket has remained wedded to such mores since the late nineteeth century but attitudes are now blurred, especially outside England, to the point where for the tradition to survive it might ultimately have to be written into England’s domestic playing regulations.Law 42.15, as adapted by ECB playing regulations for championship cricket, simply states: “The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker”Somerset and their supporters were incensed when Murali Kartik, their former spinner, removed a bail and appealed for a run out after non-striker Barrow had wandered out of his crease.The young batsman had already been warned by Kartik, earlier in the over, for leaving his ground too soon – a caution the bowler did not need to deliver under the laws, but one which if delivered traditionally protects the bowler from allegations of sharp practice.*As captain, Batty was asked by umpire Peter Hartley whether he wanted the appeal to stand. “In the heat of the battle I made the decision that, according to the letter of the law, it was the correct decision for him to be out,” said the former England spinner.Batty said that “hindsight was a wonderful thing” and suggested that if – like India during last summer’s Test at Trent Bridge when Ian Bell was reinstated following a controversial run-out incident – he had enjoyed the luxury of a 20-minute tea interval to reconsider events, a different outcome would probably have resulted.”People obviously think the spirit of the game has been brought into disrepute – that was not my intention and I thoroughly apologise for that,” Batty said.He added that he would be speaking to Marcus Trescothick, Somerset’s captain. “I want to make sure it is right with Marcus and his team,” he said.Trescothick is not the sort of person to hold a grudge but he was clearly cross with what he had witnessed. “It’s not what you come to expect in county cricket – I’ve never seen it before,” the former England opener said. “That was quite astonishing and disappointing. The game doesn’t need to come to that. It’s not the game we like to play. It annoys the players and upsets the players. But we’ll move on, come back tomorrow and carry on playing the game.”Chris Adams, Surrey’s team director, was also in placatory mood. “I think in terms of upholding the laws of cricket it was the right decision but I think the situation certainly challenges the spirit of cricket,” said Adams. “That is regrettable.”I will support the captain in this because I have been out there in many, many situations where it is very intense. These are very intense days for a lot of teams, but especially us. It has been a very, very difficult summer [Surrey’s young player Tom Maynard died in an accident on London underground in mid-summer] and we find ourselves in a position where every point, every wicket and every run appears to be of the highest premium.”Adams also recalled the dismissal of Bell against India last year, run out after he thought tea had been called. “In that incidence they India had 20 minutes of a tea-break to reflect, discuss and consider and whether it was right to change that decision,” he said.”I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when that decision was overturned. I would like to think that had we been afforded the same 20 minutes that perhaps we would have come to the same outcome. Perhaps we wouldn’t.”I would suggest maybe in the goodness of time we could all say that the one thing that hasn’t been totally upheld is the spirit of cricket, and that is regrettable.”The issue has come to the fore because of a recent change in the ICC playing regulations – adopted by the ECB for domestic cricket – which now allow the bowler to run a batsman out until the point where he has completed his delivery stride – not entered his delivery stride as stated in the MCC laws. That has made the practice easier for the bowler and confused players and spectators alike.As for Kartik, he apparently could not understand what all the fuss was about, tweeting: “Everyone get a life please… if a batsman is out on a stroll, in spite of being warned, does that count as being in the spirit of the game?”*2:50 GMT August 31: The report had erroneously stated that the law relating to Mankading was rewritten last year.

From 110 for 1, they slipped to 131 for 5 as the middle-order collapsed

Mohammad Isam29-Jan-2021West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite struck 85 but the rest of the visitors’ batsmen struggled against the BCB XI on the first day of their three-day warm-up game at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chattogram.Brathwaite lasted 187 balls to hit ten fours as he showed typical doggedness on a mostly slow pitch. He felt that he had to stay as low as possible because of a lack of bounce and that at times he was also forced to use his feet against the spinners.”It was a decent innings,” he said. “I was happy with the time I spent in the middle. I have to keep working hard. I wouldn’t say it was difficult conditions. The guys bowled well. Obviously the wicket was slow and low, to be honest. You really had to watch the ball for long. But it was going to happen.”You have to make sure you have a solid defence, and make sure you trust it throughout the innings. I had to use my feet on some occasions. Since the bounce was low, I didn’t want to come up too early.”Brathwaitte added 67 for the opening wicket with John Campbell who struck seven fours in his 44 off 73 balls. But from 110 for 1, the West Indians slipped to 131 for 5 as the middle-order of Shayne Moseley, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood and Kavem Hodge got out cheaply.Moseley and Hodge are newcomers who were playing their first innings on tour, while Bonner, who made only 2, had earlier played in the ODI series. Blackwood, who is billed as one of the batting mainstays in this West Indies side, scored only 9.It was only after Joshua da Silva, Kyle Mayers and Alzarri Joseph made scores of 20, 40 and 25 that the visitors got past the 250-run mark.For the BCB XI, legspinner Rishad Hossain took five wickets while pacer Khaled Ahmed picked up three. The other two were picked up by Saif Hassan and Shahadat Hossain. They kept the home team strategy of not playing any left-arm spinners against the visitors in the warm-up game.Later, the BCB XI openers Saif and Shadman Islam ensured they went to stumps without any losses, ending with 24 for 0 having batted for eight overs.

Alastair Cook, a victorious captain in England’s ODI series win against Pakistan, has confirmed that he will stay on the Twenty20 series

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2012Alastair Cook, a victorious captain in England’s ODI series win against Pakistan, has confirmed that he will stay on the Twenty20 series.Cook’s reputation as a one-day player blossomed as England whitewashed Pakistan 4-0 and he narrowly failed to become the first England player to make three successive hundreds in one-day internationals.He stays on because of Ravi Bopara has a stiff back and, even though he is officially only remaining with the squad as cover, England will be tempted to grab an opportunity to see if he can follow up his 50-over form by quashing the belief that he does not have the aptitude for T20 cricket.”It is not often you get to hit the ball as well as I have done,” said Cook, with a broad grin that told of his excitement that he might get a chance in an England Twenty20 team that will now be handed over as planned to Stuart Broad. “We have a couple of niggles in the batting line-up so it is a reason to stay on.”It’s been a great week and a half for us. We played some excellent cricket. Pakistan came here with an excellent record and everybody lived up to the challenge.”

Former allrounder cites ‘direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race’

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2020Azeem Rafiq has filed a legal complaint against Yorkshire County Cricket Club, citing “direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race”, as well as “victimisation and detriment as a result of his efforts to address racism at the club”.Rafiq told ESPNcricinfo in August that he had been left “on the brink of suicide” by the club’s failure to respond adequately to his allegations of institutional racism, and says he has taken this action, under the Equality Act, in a bid to seek “closure”.”Those who have, like me, been on the receiving end of racism and discrimination will understand how hard it is to open up about the pain and suffering it causes,” said Rafiq.”I feel a sense of relief to finally speak about it and that my healing process can now begin. I hope this claim will give me the closure I need and that the recommendations from the Tribunal will help bring about change for our future generations in cricket.”Rafiq’s claim against the club alleges that he was given a racist nickname by his team-mates, as were other Yorkshire players with an ethnic minority background, with the term “P***” and the phrase “go back where you came from” frequently heard within the dressing-room.The claim further alleges that Yorkshire failed to respect ethnic beliefs of Pakistani players and players of Pakistani descent, “including the non-provision of Halal food facilities and attempts to enforce the drinking culture of the club on them”.Yorkshire is also accused of failing to provide Rafiq with pastoral care after his son was still-born in 2018, shortly before he left the club for a second time, and Rafiq claims that he was denied the same professional opportunities as his white British team-mates, including an opportunity to play T20 franchise cricket in the off-season.Rafiq’s original allegations, which were laid out in the course of three separate interviews in the course of the English season, led to Yorkshire commissioning an investigation, which is still ongoing.”Racism has no place in our society or in our sport,” Yorkshire told ESPNcricinfo in a statement. “We have taken the allegations made extremely seriously, launching a thorough, independent investigation and now await the results and recommendations from this early next year.”This is an important investigation for the club and a distressing time for all involved but with this process underway and the investigation team currently conducting interviews, it would be inappropriate for us to go into further detail on any ongoing legal matters at this stage.”Rafiq’s lawyer, Asma Iqbal, added: “Azeem is a victim of institutional racism who has taken a brave step to whistle blow on an institution which now accepts it needs to embrace change; if only they had recognised this in 2018 when Azeem was crying out for help and support.”Crucially, the YCCC can do the right thing and accept this claim, which will allow the action to go ahead. If YCCC is serious about tackling racism, it will do just that.”

Laurie Evans swept Warwickshire to their first Friends Life t20 win of the season with a dominant unbeaten 68

19-Jun-2012
ScorecardLaurie Evans swept Warwickshire to their first Friends Life t20 win of the season with a dominant unbeaten 68 that snatched victory from Northamptonshire’s grasp at Edgbaston.Evans has struggled to break into Warwickshire’s first team since he arrived from Surrey but he has been given the opportunity to impress in this season’s Twenty20 competition and seized it with a sparkling maiden half-century in the competition.Evans revived Warwickshire after they had stumbled to 85 for 4 in pursuit of a target of 150 and decided the match in one decisive over from offspinner James Middlebrook. Evans swept Middlebrook for successive fours and then drove him through extra cover for a third to bring up a 34-ball 50.He took two more fours off David Willey’s next over, including the winning boundary through extra cover. Chris Woakes, released for county duty after he was left out of England’s side for the one-day international against West Indies at The Oval, helped Evans to guide Warwickshire home with an over to spare by contributing 23 from 15 balls to an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 67 in 37 balls.Evans’ match-winning innings helped him to atone for a lapse in the field which reprieved Cameron White when the former Australia Twenty20 captain had made only 3. Evans misjudged the chance at deep midwicket off Jeetan Patel and the ball cleared him after he ran in too far.It looked like being a costly error as White, currently out of favour with Australia’s selectors, followed up his unbeaten 47 in Sunday’s defeat by Somerset with 60 not out from 39 balls. White struck sixes off Keith Barker and Darren Maddy and gave Northamptonshire’s innings late acceleration after they had been pegged back by Patel and medium-pacer Steffan Piolet.Niall O’Brien played a valuable supporting role to White in a third-wicket stand of 62 before he chopped on to Barker but White reached his 50 from 34 balls.Warwickshire’s acting captain Varun Chopra (25) and Darren Maddy contributed valuable cameos but it was Evans who completed the run chase with nine fours in his 41-ball innings.

Offspinner Shane Shillingford has been added to the West Indies squad for the second Test against Australia, beginning on April 15 at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2012Offspinner Shane Shillingford has been added to the West Indies squad for the second Test against Australia, beginning on April 15 at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.Shillingford’s inclusion is the only change to the squad that lost the first Test in Barbados by three wickets. He took 38 wickets in five matches for Windward Islands in this year’s Regional Four-Day tournament.Shillingford played five Test for West Indies, the last of which was against Sri Lanka in November 2010. He underwent remedial work on an action that was deemed illegal after that tour of Sri Lanka and made the squad for the tour of Bangladesh in 2011, although he did not play a match.Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Kirk Edwards (vc), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh (wk), Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Fidel Edwards, Kieran Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford

Australia’s under-fire Test opener Phillip Hughes has withdrawn from the Big Bash League in order to focus on his form in the longer format

Brydon Coverdale14-Dec-2011Australia’s under-fire Test opener Phillip Hughes has withdrawn from the Big Bash League in order to focus on his form in the longer format. Although Hughes is expected to be axed from the side for the Boxing Day Test against India after a disappointing few months, he has not entirely given up on retaining his spot and does not want to be distracted by the BBL over the next two weeks.Hughes had signed for the Sydney Thunder, who begin their Twenty20 campaign on Saturday night against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Had Hughes played in that game, he would have needed to rush to Canberra on Sunday to prepare for Monday’s three-day Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI encounter against the Indians.That match is his last chance to impress the selectors ahead of Boxing Day, after he was caught in the cordon by Martin Guptill off Chris Martin in all four innings of the recent Test series as New Zealand exploited his weakness outside off stump. Since Simon Katich was dumped from Australia’s squad mid-year, Hughes has averaged 27.69 in Test cricket.”Following my performances over the last few months, I have decided that, right now, I need to be completely focus on my first-class cricket career,” Hughes said in a statement. “I’m obviously disappointed that I haven’t been able to score the runs in the last few Tests that I know I am capable of and I want to do everything I can to ensure that my game continues to develop.”I talked with Pup [captain Michael Clarke] and [coach] Mickey Arthur about it after the Hobart Test and they both supported my thinking. I then approached John Dyson (Sydney Thunder) and Pat Howard (Cricket Australia) to ensure that they would be comfortable for me to step away from my contract with the Thunder.”Selfishly, it’s the right decision for me but I’m obviously concerned that I have made this decision on the eve of the Thunder’s first game. Everyone has been extremely understanding and I wish the boys all the best for a successful Big Bash season. I’m now focusing on next week’s Chairman’s XI game in Canberra and can’t wait to face the Indian bowlers.”The Thunder will survive. Hughes would have been competing for top-order runs with Chris Gayle and David Warner had he played in the T20 competition, while Usman Khawaja is also part of the Thunder roster. And while Hughes deserves to be commended for his decision to concentrate on his form in the longer format, the move carries plenty of risk for him.Should he fail to impress in the Chairman’s XI match and win a place in the Boxing Day Test, he will have no first-class cricket to fall back on until the beginning of February, a T20 window having been created in the domestic calendar throughout January. That means Hughes would be trying to regain his touch in grade cricket and in the nets.Hughes, 23, has three Test hundreds to his name but his tendency to edge outside off became a fatal flaw during the New Zealand series and he will need to rectify it before he wins another chance in the Test side. Earlier this week it was announced that he would play county cricket with Worcestershire next season, where his technique will be tested.

England coach wants players to keep in touch as they exchange one bio-secure environment for another

Andrew Miller17-Sep-2020England’s IPL-bound players have been cautioned by Chris Silverwood, their head coach, to keep checking in with the management to guard against burn-out, as they prepare to swap a summer of bio-secure bubbles in England for another seven-week stint in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah between September 19 and November 10A total of 10 England players will feature in this year’s competition, which gets underway in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, including seven of the men who were involved in the recent T20I and ODI series against Australia.Eoin Morgan, the England captain, will be linking up with Kolkata Knight Riders, alongside Tom Banton, while Jos Buttler, Tom Curran and Jofra Archer are headed for Rajasthan Royals’ bubble, where they will be joined by Australia’s captain Steve Smith, and potentially Ben Stokes as well, although he is currently in New Zealand for personal reasons.ALSO READ: England should be proud of ensuring show did go on – SilverwoodMoeen Ali (Bangalore), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers) and Sam Curran (Super Kings) are among the other England players who picked up deals for this year’s tournament. They are among a total of 21 IPL-bound players – including ten members of the Australian camp – who will land in the UAE on a specially chartered flight from Manchester on Thursday evening, before splitting off into their respective franchises.And speaking in the wake of England’s three-wicket defeat in the third ODI at Emirates Old Trafford – where Australia claimed the series 2-1 – Silverwood said he was realistic about both the financial and the competitive imperatives of taking part in such a competition, but encouraged his players to exercise caution.”It’s their decision really … but we’ll have to keep an eye on them,” he said. “Obviously, the contracts are good for them but equally as well we’re looking forward at a T20 World Cup. The more high-class T20 they can play will be a good thing for us.””The one thing that I have encouraged is that they keep talking to us; we need to make sure that they don’t burn out as well.”Morgan has already spoken positively about joining his KKR team-mates at their beach-fronted hotel in the UAE – which promises a more pleasant lifestyle than the pitch-side hotels in Manchester and Southampton.Nevertheless, Silverwood remains cautious about his players’ welfare – not least that of Archer, who is due to link up with Rajasthan Royals this week, but has hinted that he will pull out of the Big Bash in Australia, after acknowledging the mental toll that a total of three months in the England bubble had taken on him.Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer will be heading to the IPL straight from England’s bio-bubble•Getty Images

While England were careful to manage their players’ welfare as best they could – with Buttler, for instance, missing the third T20I to spend his 30th birthday with his family – Archer was the one player to be sanctioned for a breach of protocol during the summer, after he made an unauthorised stop-over at his home in Brighton during the West Indies Test series.And after Archer hinted that he had found the white-ball leg of his summer more enjoyable than his time in the Test camps against West Indies and Pakistan, Silverwood acknowledged it would be important to find ways to keep such a key player geed up across formats.”Jofra’s found being locked up difficult at times,” he said. “He’s not the only player, there’s been quite a few. We have to do it and I’m very proud of how the guys have dealt with it.”It’s a juggling act of keeping people fresh in the mind,” Silverwood added. “When people have asked to get out of the bubble, we’ve got them out. We said we would and we have. It’s a case of making sure we don’t burn people out.”We’ve mixed up the coaches so they work with different people. A change of personnel, fresh voices, new ideas keeping things fresh and new opportunities for our county coaches to make their mark and see how we do things.”That mixing-up of coaches included Graham Thorpe, Silverwood’s assistant, taking charge of the white-ball squad against Ireland and Pakistan. That situation may have to be repeated at stages in the winter, Silverwood acknowledged, because it is not immediately clear how England’s itinerary will look when it is finalised in the coming weeks.Their planned white-ball tour of South Africa in December is already in jeopardy, while the exact dates of their Test series against India and Sri Lanka in the new year yet to be confirmed.”It’s been strange times, no doubt about it,” Silverwood said. “Things aren’t going to change in a rush [so] it may be we have to take that step again. One of the things I’ve enjoyed is the fact my assistant coaches have got to lead the team as well, and I’ve had opportunities to step back and watch from a distance. That’s a positive.”