The Ashes: England need to prioritise county cricket and pick another English coach next, says Monty Panesar | Cricket News

Panesar: “There’s a question mark [over] why England are reluctant to have a front-line spinner. (Chris) Silverwood has been unwilling to confront some of the mistakes they have made”; former England spinner says the cricketing schedule is “catered for medium-pacers” early in the year

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Former England spinner Monty Panesar believes Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart could replace England head coach Chris Silverwood if he is sacked following the humiliating Ashes defeat in Australia

Former England bowler Monty Panesar has told Sky Sports News English cricket needs to revolutionise its calendar by prioritising the county game, investing in pitches, and choosing another English head coach if they decide to replace Chris Silverwood.

Silverwood and England captain Joe Root have come under immense scrutiny after Australia retained The Ashes by taking a 3-0 lead thanks to Test victories in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne, the latter of which included England’s collapse to 68 all out in their second innings.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, pundits Rob Key, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain were critical of Silverwood, with Key saying the 46-year-old looked “out of his depth” as England slumped to an innings-and-14-run defeat at the MCG.

Alec Stewart, 58, who captained the national side from 1998-1999 and played 133 Tests for his country, was named as Surrey’s director of cricket in 2014.

He has overseen a period of relative success at The Oval with a County Championship triumph in 2018, as well as regular finishes in the latter stages of the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup competitions, and Panesar thinks Stewart would be a worthy candidate to become England head coach should Silverwood leave his role.

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Jonathan Trott says Joe Root has earned the right to decide his own future, and urges England to stick with both him and Silverwood

Questions have been raised over Root’s ability to captain England in light of their Ashes loss

Panesar told Sky Sports News: “Chris Silverwood is a decent, honourable man. He was successful at Essex. When they won at Essex they had spinner Simon Harmer who took 72 wickets at an average of 19.

“There’s a question mark why England are reluctant to have a front-line spinner. Silverwood has been unwilling to confront some of the mistakes they have made.

Monty Panesar was involved in three Ashes series during his international cricket career

“Maybe reviewing after The Ashes, if they do look to replace him, there are plenty of good English coaches in our system or coaches who are within The Hundred. One person, in particular, is Alec Stewart who knows the system really well.

“We’ve seen some young cricketers from Surrey come through the system, and he’s the one person England may look upon.”

Ashes Panel: ‘Out of his depth’ Silverwood set for the chop?

Head coach Chris Silverwood is in the firing line after England’s painful Ashes series defeat – and he was not spared on the latest Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

England did not pick Jack Leach or fellow spinner Dom Bess in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide. By contrast, Australia’s Nathan Lyon has 12 wickets to his name in the series so far.

Jack Leach has taken two wickets during this year’s series

When questioned why England are seemingly failing to produce effective spinners for Test cricket, Panesar, who took 167 wickets during his seven-year Test career from 2006 to 2013, said: “It’s to do with the schedule. The county schedule is catered for the medium-pacers early in the year – bowlers who bowl 75-80mph – and they come into the game and then late in September.

Ben Stokes and Root look dejected as England slumped to their latest Ashes defeat

“They need to maybe get more county games in June, July and August – pack the schedule out there. And maybe just schedule The Hundred and have it during the weekends when they can maximise crowd attendance.

“And they also need to produce hard, firm pitches so batsmen can actually learn how to play a longer innings.

“Bowlers need to bend their back and bowl a bit faster to get wickets on these pitches, and it allows spinners to come into the game.”

England have not won an Ashes series in Australia since their 2010/2011 tour

Panesar also feels there needs to be investment in pitches in England so that they resemble the flatter surfaces in Australia and enable batters to get used to different conditions.

He added: “The batsmen are so worried about the medium-pace bowlers getting them out lbw or bowled that they are all surviving rather than looking to build a longer innings and trusting the pitches.

“We’ve seen huge investment from The Hundred and counties are getting funding from that. Part of that needs to go into producing pitches much more flatter so batters can learn to trust the pace and the bounce like you do in Australia. It’s to do with pitches that are produced in our game.”

Jimmy Anderson says England need to block out the distractions ahead of the fourth Test

Anderson: England must restore pride in fourth Test

Jimmy Anderson says England need to “restore some pride” in the fourth Test in Sydney, with Australia having already retained The Ashes after taking a 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Preparations for the fourth Test have been hit by Silverwood having to isolate due to positive coronavirus tests being returned within the England touring party.

The England boss has been forced into quarantine for 10 days, while three other coaching staff members are also in isolation.

Anderson said: “We have to restore some pride and try and compete – that’s our main focus as players. We have to block out what’s happening off the field and focus on the fourth and fifth Tests.

“It can be difficult at times, especially for guys experiencing the Ashes for the first time who are not that experienced with Test cricket and touring.

“That’s where the more senior players come in, we have to try and rally round, make sure everyone is in a good place and a good headspace.”

Meanwhile, Anderson has moved up three places to fifth in the latest update to the ICC Test bowling rankings.

The 39-year-old has leapfrogged New Zealand’s Neil Wagner, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood after his excellent performance in Melbourne.

Australia captain Pat Cummins remains top of the rankings, followed by India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Pakistan paceman Shaheen Afridi, New Zealand seamer Tim Southee and then Anderson.