Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd joined Ian Ward to preview England’s T20I series in New Zealand, with Hussain calling it “the start of a new era”.
England face New Zealand in five T20Is – the first in Christchurch, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30am on Friday – and then two Test matches, their first series under new head coach Chris Silverwood.
Silverwood takes over from Trevor Bayliss, who led England to victory in the 2019 Cricket World Cup earlier this summer but also presided over an inconsistent Test unit during his four years in charge.
Speaking on the latest Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Hussain said Silverwood will benefit from his knowledge of the young talent coming through the county cricket circuit, some of whom are set to make their England debuts on this tour.
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“It’s the start of a new era, isn’t it,” said Hussain. “Chris coming in as head coach, following in the footsteps of a very good coach in Bayliss – albeit not so much in Test cricket. But in white-ball cricket, he won us a World Cup and a loss in a World T20 final.
“Silverwood is a good man, but there is a big difference between being an Essex coach – which he was, and a successful one – and a bowling coach, which he has been for England, to being the main man.
“When you are the main man, all eyes are on you. You have to do those press conferences, when you win or lose.
“It’s a difficult gig, but we wish him well, because he is passionate about English cricket.
“The good thing for him is that he has come from domestic cricket, so he will have seen a lot of these youngsters.
“That was the problem for Bayliss at times, a foreign coach and with so much international cricket, he wouldn’t see some of the players he was picking.
“Silverwood will know about Saqib Mahmood, Tom Banton, all these youngsters coming through.
“Banton is the interesting one. He is a real talent from what we’ve seen domestically. In fact, this series will be a good test for our Blast competition – they’ve picked the star lads from that, Banton, Mahmood, Pat Brown, Lewis Gregory, Matt Parkinson – up against a very good New Zealand side.
“It’s an incredible turnaround from a few years ago when we couldn’t name 11 very good one-day cricketers for England – we were the laughing stock of the world – and now we’re looking at possible replacements, we can’t get them all in.
“Take this opportunity lads. Before long, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes etc will be strolling back in. Make sure you take this opportunity in these five games, because there could be a T20 World Cup spot to be had.”
Hussain added that the youngsters in the squad, as well as Silverwood, will benefit from Eoin Morgan’s decision to stay on as captain up to the T20 World Cup in October next year – when he will be 34 years old.
“I think it’s terrific,” said Bumble. “He’ll be brilliant in the dressing room and knows bowling inside out.
“He is a larger-than-life character, and you need a mix of characters. I would think it’s Silverwood’s appointment, having known him from [playing together at] Yorkshire and knowing what kind of character he is.
“Silverwood is a rookie coach at this level and so you need a good mix of people around you, and it looks like he’s got that.
“When you speak to Goughie, he has been itching for this sort of role. He thinks he’s got something to offer and he has.
“I think it’s really important that you get through to a bowler about gut feel. And that’s what Goughie lived off.
“For example, you’ve got a kid who is going to play in this first game of the T20s, Pat Brown, who loves bowling under pressure and uses a gut feel to out-think the batsman. That’s the way the game is going these days.”
Also on the latest Sky Sports Cricket podcast…
– What it’s like to tour New Zealand
– Does Joe Root come back into this T20 squad? What about Alex Hales?
– Is the county season structure being adversely affected by T20 cricket
– The demise of top-order batting in world cricket
– Silverwood needs a clear strategy for the Test team and to stick with it
– Can England win the Rugby World Cup on Saturday? And what were Hussain, Bumble and Sir Ian Botham getting up to when they last won it in 2003?
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