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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Moeen Ali gives verdict on Chris Silverwood's tenure as England coach after his sacking

Moeen Ali has praised former England head coach Chris Silverwood for trying to 'look after the players' during his time in charge.

Silverwood was axed as England coach last week following their 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes, while Graham Thorpe was also sacked after managing director Ashley Giles stepped down from his role.

There are big changes going on within the England set-up at the moment, and finding a new coach to replace Silverwood is the number one priority.

And Moeen, who only retired from Test cricket last year, labelled Silverwood as a 'very good coach' and a 'brilliant person'.

Moeen Ali has paid tribute to Chris Silverwood after he was sacked as England coach (PA)

However, he acknowledged that 'these things happen when you have a bad tour like Australia'.

Speaking from Bangladesh, where he has joined up with Comilla Victorians for the Bangladesh Premier League, Moeen said: "One thing with Silverwood, he tries to look after the players and he's a brilliant person, he's a very good coach.

"It's a shame he's obviously not there anymore but he's made lots of friends and he can go with a lot of respect because he was such a good guy.

"It's always sad when people leave, the guys are good guys and they've all done a great job, but at the end of the day everything is about results and we had a poor Ashes and these things happen. It's not a job forever.

"They tried to do the best for the players but these things happen when you have a bad tour like Australia, which is big for England, people then always after that get sacked, so it's very sad."

ECB chief Tom Harrison also paid tribute to Silverwood, calling him 'a man of great integrity' and praising him for coaching England 'with great resilience and empathy through an incredibly challenging period'.

Silverwood was axed following England's 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes (Getty Images)

"During his time in the role Chris has given absolutely everything to make a success of it," Harrison said. "He is a man of great integrity, who players and staff alike have enjoyed working with.

"He has led the England Men’s team with great resilience and empathy through an incredibly challenging period for English cricket, and he deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude."

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