Joshua Da Silva claims that while England’s focus is already on the 2025–2026 Ashes, he is not bothered by it and will gladly embrace their magnanimity if it means the West Indies may reenter the series.
England leads this three-match series 1-0 after a commanding innings and 114-run victory at Lord’s. The second Test at Trent Bridge starts on Thursday. James Anderson’s retirement celebration took place during the first Test, which also marked the beginning of a new era due to the impressive debuts of Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith. Atkinson, in particular, changed the guard with match statistics of 12 for 106.
In order to reclaim the urn in Australia in two winters, Anderson was removed from the team and assigned to the post of bowling coach, which he began on Tuesday in Nottingham. The decision has drawn criticism from several places, not the least of which is that it detracts from the West Indies.
Da Silva, on the other hand, does not consider the decision to be disparaging and recognises England’s desire to get ready for Australia ahead of schedule. particularly if doing so implies underestimating their present rivals.
“That’s their biggest fixture of their calendar,” Da Silva said. “So if they’re looking forward, they’re looking to groom some players to make sure they have their team ready for them. I don’t think it’s wrong of them at all.
“Nah, it doesn’t hurt us. I don’t study it especially. We still have to play the cricket. If they take us for granted we might get a win, or might win the series. For me, I take that as a favour.”
After the disappointing loss last week, the travelling party had an open discussion. Talk mostly revolved around 121 and 136’s hitting attempts. While there was some allowance for students’ lack of English language expertise, the responsibility fell on those who did not meet expectations.
With 31 down at No. 9 in the second innings, Gudakesh Motie led the West Indies in scoring during the match. He also had a few additional starts with single-digit scores. They fell apart on the first day, going from a strong 88 for 3 to 121 all out, and then the next afternoon, they were reduced to 55 for 5.
Da Silva is hopeful that apologies can be made at Trent Bridge after pocketing a two-ball duck and nine in his two innings.
“Obviously in the batting a few of us didn’t stick our hands up,” Da Silva said. “We had a few soft dismissals.
“We are pretty disappointed after the first Test. We have put that behind us, we’ve had our discussions, and we are looking forward to the second Test. We are doing everything we can, rebuilding, and going hard forward into the next Test.
“It might not look like it, but we’ve taken a few positives. A lot of guys got starts and just didn’t carry on. We talked about soaking up more pressure and how we are going to deal with those situations if we are put in them again. Not losing wickets in clusters.
“It’s about reminding ourselves of the process and trusting that process because all of us have a different way of going about it. It’s just about trusting our own game and making sure we get the job done.”