England head coach Chris Silverwood axed after Ashes failure

With England taking measures to amend for the Ashes humiliation, axe has fallen on Chris Silverwood as he has been sacked from the position of the head coach.


The development comes a day after Ashley Giles quit as the managing director of England men's cricket. Meanwhile, Andrew Strauss has filled the position of Giles on an interim basis.


Losing Ashes 4-0 to Australia, demands of changes within English cricket were made by fans and pundits. While captain Joe Root seemed to have survived the wind, it was all but written that the head coach and a few administrators would suffer the wrath.


"It’s been an absolute honour to be England Head Coach, and I’m extremely proud to have worked alongside our players and staff. I want to thank them all for the hard work and commitment they have given during my time in the role and I wish them all the very best moving forward," Silverwood was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.


Giving details of the workload, Silverwood added that the last two years were demanding but he will look back fondly at the memories.


"The last two years have been very demanding but I have really enjoyed my time with the team and working with Rooty (Joe Root) and Morgs (Eoin Morgan), and I am very proud of this group considering the challenges. I leave with fond memories and I am now looking forward to spending some quality time at home with my family and embracing the next chapter," Silverwood mentioned.


After Sliverwood's axing, The ECB stated that "interim arrangements" for the upcoming West Indies series will be announced in due course.


"Chris Silverwood has left his role as England Men's Head Coach. Interim arrangements for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies will be announced in due course," ECB released a statement on Thursday.


ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison heaped praises on Silverwood and congratulated him on his successful tenure.


"During his time in the role Chris has given absolutely everything to make a success of it. He is a man of great integrity, who players and staff alike have enjoyed working with," Harrison said.


"Under Chris, England men's white-ball teams have been ranked first and second in the world while he also led the Test team to a number of series wins including away in South Africa and Sri Lanka. He has led the England men's team with great resilience and empathy through an incredibly challenging period for English cricket, and he deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude," he added.


England will soon depart for the West Indies to play a three-match Test series, scheduled in March.

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