Chris Silverwood steps down as England's head coach ahead of Test series in Caribbean

England cricket team's head coach Chris Silverwood stepped down from the role following his team's recent 4-0 defeat in the Ashes.

Interim arrangements for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies will be announced in due course, according to an official release from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Silverwood was appointed by Ashley Giles in 2019. The latter also quit as England's director of cricket earlier this week. Sir Andrew Strauss, the man Giles replaced in 2018, will take temporary charge and make arrangements for the forthcoming tour of West Indies.

ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: "During his time in the role Chris has given absolutely everything to make a success of it. He is a man of great integrity, who players and staff alike have enjoyed working with. Under Chris, England Men's white ball teams have been ranked first and second in the world while he also led the Test team to a number of series wins including away in South Africa and Sri Lanka.

"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. In the coming days Andrew Strauss will appoint a caretaker coach for the tour of the West Indies and will then consider the appropriate coaching structures to help England move forwards."

Chris Silverwood said: "It's been an absolute honour to be England Head Coach, and I'm extremely proud to have worked alongside our players and staff. I want to thank them all for the hard work and commitment they have given during my time in the role and I wish them all the very best moving forward.

"The last two years have been very demanding but I have really enjoyed my time with the team and working with Rooty and Morgs, and I am very proud of this group considering the challenges. I leave with fond memories and I am now looking forward to spending some quality time at home with my family and embracing the next chapter."

Following the Ashes defeat, England also ended up losing the five-match T20I series in West Indies. Their next assignment is a Test series in the Caribbean and a squad for that will be announced next week.

Before touring Australia, England lost 1-0 in a two-match Test series against New Zealand, giving up a seven-year record unbeaten home record against these opponents. Then, the English men went 2-1 down against India before the final match was postponed because of a Covid outbreak in the visitors' camp.

Considered among the favourites to win the T20 World Cup, England were perhaps unlucky to be struck by injuries and lose a crucial toss in their semi-final defeat by New Zealand in November.