'Personally, I'd have no problem going' - England coach Chris Silverwood on touring Pakistan

England head coach Chris Silverwood has no qualms over touring Pakistan for a series. Chris believes that the England team would love to visit Pakistan and play cricket on their pitches. The England cricket team has not toured Pakistan since 2005-06 due to security reasons.

Silverwood’s statement came after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Wasim Khan expressed his wish of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) staging a reciprocal tour to the country for a short T20 series before their next scheduled visit in 2022.

Pakistan is facing England in an ongoing Test series scheduled from August 5 to August 25. The first Test match is being played at Manchester with the first day stumped with Pakistan scoring 139 runs at the loss of 2 wickets. Following the first day’s play at the Manchester Test, Silverwood, while speaking to the media said, “For me, it’s great that it’s a topic of conversation again. We are looking to get back there.”

“Personally, I’d have no problem going,” he said. “I’ve never been so it would be nice to go and have a look. And I know our batsmen are looking forward to batting on their wickets. We are getting there [in terms of planning],” Chris added as quoted by The Guardian.

Pakistan and West Indies cricket team have helped the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) by touring England amidst the pandemic. Conducting these matches was important for ECB to overcome the financial crisis caused by the long unexpected break due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, the two nations want England to return the favour by organising reciprocal tours.

It always hurts to lose: Chris Silverwood

Speaking on the topic, the ECB has clarified that there is no on-going discussion on the subject at present. The schedule of the England cricket team is packed for the upcoming few months.

Further in the interaction, Silverwood also opined on England losing the third ODI against Ireland by 7 wickets. Ireland had toured England for a three-match ODI series where the hosts clinched the series by winning the first two matches with 6 and 4 wickets respectively.

England’s ODI squad had practiced under the direction of Paul Collingwood for the Ireland series. However, the head coach Silverwood has now retained the overall responsibility for the direction of the England squads. When asked about the loss against Ireland, Chris stated that such things happen when there is an addition of relatively new and inexperienced players in the team.

“It always hurts to lose, but sometimes you learn your best lessons when you do. You take things on board, but overall a series win is very good for them and it’s great to see the likes of Tom Banton getting scores and being mixed in amongst World Cup winners. It can only be a bonus for them to play alongside them,” said the 45-year-old.