England coach Chris Silverwood said India’s stunning series win away to Australia was a boost to his side’s Ashes hopes Down Under later this year.
An injury-ravaged India defied the odds to complete a 2-1 series triumph with a three-wicket victory on Tuesday as they inflicted Australia’s first defeat in a Test match at Brisbane’s Gabba ground since 1988.
“I thought it was brilliant,” Silverwood told reporters in a conference call ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
“It’s nothing to do with me, (Australia skipper) Tim Paine’s captaincy, but it’s always nice to see people in opposition teams under pressure,” the former England paceman added.
Australia hold the Ashes after the 2019 series in England ended all square at 2-2, but Silverwood said of India’s triumph in Brisbane: “It shows that, if you do the basics well and get stuck in, we can beat them.
“Our boys back in the hotel were taking an interest and I think most of them appeared for lunch after India had won. So they were all staying and watching.”
Before the 2021-’22 Ashes, however, England face a resurgent and resilient India in nine consecutive away and home Tests.
“If you look at what we’ve got in front of us, before we get to the Ashes we have nine Tests against India,” said Silverwood. “What a fantastic way to prepare against very strong opposition. There’ll be some great cricket and all the guys here are excited to play in those series, just as we are excited to play in this one.”
England will look to complete a 2-0 series clean sweep against Sri Lanka when the second Test starts on Friday.
Given the likely humid conditions, and their upcoming fixture schedule, England could well rotate their bowling attack, with record wicket-taker James Anderson giving way to Stuart Broad, second on England’s all-time list.
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