Not Scared of a Little Bit of a Fight, Says England Coach Chris Silverwood
India vs England: Jasprit Bumrah was involved in a verbal duel with Jos Buttler, bowlers Mark Wood, James Anderson.
Not backing down: England coach Chris Silverwood
India and England's Test encounter at the Lord's ended in a dramatic fashion, with the visitors running away with a 151-run win. Apart from some good cricket, the match also had a lot of verbal volleys between the two sides.
To this, England head coach Chris Silverwood said that they are not "scared of a fight" and they would "push India back" if they try to push them.
"The one thing we're not scared of is a little bit of a fight," Silverwood said. "They push us, we push back, to me it creates great Test cricket. We're disappointed with the result, but what a Test match to watch. There has been a little bit of fire in there, emotion from two sets of proud players representing their country. I think it's great, the guys are getting stuck into this fight and I am enjoying it."
The tussle started late on day three when Jasprit Bumrah started bowling bouncers at James Anderson. What seemed like a mere strategy to wrap up the tail, wasn't appreciated much by Anderson. While walking back, the veteran was seen saying something to Bumrah.
The back and forth continued when skipper Virat Kohli came out to bat the next day and decided to give it back to Anderson.
But Silverwood joined captain Joe Root in admitting they got it wrong when they continually attacked Bumrah in particular with short-pitched bowling during an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 89 that extinguished England's hopes of victory.
"It's a collective thing and I am part of it," admitted the coach. "If we are in that situation again we need to go back to Plan A sooner. I don't mind an aggressive approach and you have to give credit to India but equally we have to look at our tactics."
The third Test will be played at Headingley from 25 August.
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