Manchester, Aug 6 (IANS) England head coach Chris Silverwood has criticised the bowlers after Pakistan put on a good show with the bat despite losing early wickets on first day of the first Test at the Old Trafford.
The England bowlers started brightly on the rain-marred opening day, removing Abid Ali and Azhar Ali inside team score of 50. But from there on, they were guilty of giving away easy boundaries as Babar Azam and Shan Masood capitalised on it.
The duo put on an unbeatable 96-run stand to help the visitors end the day at 139/2. Babar remained unbeaten on 69 while Masood remained not out at 46 on Wednesday evening.
“We bowled too many four-balls and gave the momentum back to Pakistan,” Silverwood told reporters as per Daily Mail. “We weren’t on the money. The standards we’ve set ourselves, we just weren’t there, if we’re brutally honest.”
“The challenge, if it happens again, is how can we wrestle momentum back more quickly? I’d like to see a repeat of how we bowled against West Indies, and make life hard for the batsmen.
“We know we’re up against some very good batsmen, and if we’re not at the top of our game, they will take it away from us. It’s a timely reminder,” he added.
Silverwood also stated that veteran fast-bowler James Anderson struggled to find his rhythm on the opening day. Anderson bowled too many boundary-balls to Babar.
“He was struggling for a bit of rhythm,” Silverwood admitted. “As a bowler I’ve felt that before, it happens, but what I’ve said to Jimmy is you’re only ever one ball from finding that rhythm again. When he does, we know how devastating he is.”
–IANS
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