Sri Lanka’s loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Australia would have made head coach Chris Silverwood wary of the November 5 clash against his former side England at Sydney, but the 47-year-old tactician preferred to remain modest about the upcoming clash, saying his boys will play with “due diligence” and prepare for Jos Buttler’s side well.
Silverwood was the England head coach and had to step down following pressure from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after his side’s dismal performance in the Ashes Down Under earlier this year. Asked whether he was “looking forward to that matchup against England”, Silverwood said, he knew the question would come up during the conversation.
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“I knew that was going to come up. I think it’ll be a great game (against England). Obviously, it’ll be great to catch up with a few old friends there, as well. But from a personal point of view, I’ll be going into that game the same and preparing for that game the same as I would for any other really.
“It’s a game that we must win, so we’ll do our due diligence. We’ll prep for it. We’ll make sure we practice well.”
Silverwood though added his boys were eager to take on the England team “head-on”.
“We’ll try and meet them head-on, but we know that they’re a good team and it’s going to be hard work, so we’ve got to be prepared for them,” added Silverwood.
Asked whether Sri Lanka had the plan to contain Stoinis, or the Australian just took off and nobody had a clue, Silverwood replied he did have a plan for the allrounder but the players’ brilliance negated the ploy.
Australia defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets at Perth on Tuesday with Stoinis smashing the joint second-fastest T20 World Cup half-century as the hosts chased down 157 to put their campaign in the tournament back on track.
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“No, there was always a ploy (for Stoinis). We had plans, obviously very put together, but as with anything, the players are allowed to play well, and today (Tuesday) was his day, the way he came back at us and obviously struck the ball. Again, he was exceptional. He took the fight to us.
“Yeah, we have to give Stoinis credit there. The way he came in and played was exceptional. He showed how much power he had, and obviously made life very difficult for us. We knew that Australia had to come hard at us, obviously, because of the run rate and what have you, but he played superbly well, so credit to him,” added Silverwood.
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