London, Oct 7: England Cricket Board on Monday (October 7) appointed Chris Silverwood as the new head of the national side. Silverwood took over as England fast bowling coach under Trevor Bayliss early last year and he is going succeed the Australian.

Bayliss decided to bring his four-year reign, which included a Cricket World Cup triumph in July, to an end at the conclusion of the Ashes series last month.  

The ECB's selection panel of Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison, Managing Director of England's Men's Cricket Ashley Giles and Head of Coach Development John Neal unanimously agreed that Silverwood (44) was the outstanding candidate for the role having impressed during the interview process and demonstrating his intimate knowledge of the current set-up and systems. 

"We are delighted to confirm Chris as England Men's Head Coach. We have gone through a thorough process and looked at all the options that were available to us. Chris was the standout candidate.

"I believe he is what we need to take our international teams forward. He is somebody we know well, but it is his intimate understanding of our structures and systems and his close relationships with Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Eoin Morgan that will help us develop our plans for the next few years."He has performed exceptionally well during his role as an assistant coach and has the ultimate respect of the players that have worked with him," said Giles. 

"Chris demonstrated in his interview a clear understanding and strategy of how both the red and white ball teams need to evolve. He has some detailed thoughts on what it will take to win the Ashes in Australia and win major ICC white-ball tournaments.

"Over the past couple of years, he has been an integral member of developing the teams' culture and emerging a cohesive relationship across the team's management group," Giles added further. 

'Thrilled and honoured'

Speaking about his appointment, Silverwood added: "I am thrilled and honoured to be appointed England Head Coach.

"I aim to continue the great work that has been done over the past five years and build on our future, especially in the Test arena.

"I have enjoyed working with the players over the past two seasons, and developing the best crop of talent in the English game.

"I am excited to get started and build teams' that the whole game can be proud of. There is a tremendous amount of talent coming through, and there is enormous potential for growth. The hard work starts now, and I am confident we can make a positive impact during our winter tours of New Zealand and South Africa."

Silverwood's first competitive series as Head Coach will be England's tour of New Zealand, which includes a five-match IT20 series starting on November 1 in Christchurch and two Tests against the Black Caps commencing on November 21 at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.