Brief profile of Chris Silverwood by John Dobson

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Player:

CEW Silverwood

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DateLine: 3rd November 2006

 

Yorkshire’s production line of quality pace men delivered once again in the form of Chris Silverwood who became one of the championship’s most effective strike bowlers in the late 90’s, with his ability to combine movement with control and accuracy,

 

After making his county debut at 18 by the age of 21 he had taken 47 first class wickets in a season and made his England one day and test debuts away in Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

 

Though giving respectable performances in Zimbabwe he struggled in subsequent limited over matches against New Zealand and Australia in 1997.

 

After taking 59 wickets in 1999 though he was recalled firstly to the A team tour of Bangladesh and New Zealand and then onto the test tour of South Africa. Sadly figures of 5-91 in the 4th test were not backed up with enough consistency and his international career probably finished when, having travelled out as a replacement for Simon Jones in the injury prone 2002 ashes squad, he too fell victim to physical problems.

 

Even though injury curtailed some of his county seasons after 2000 he still produced impressive averages. However after problems in the 2004 and 2005 campaigns, the latter seeing him frequently in the Yorkshire reserves, Silverwood headed south to Middlesex where he instantly returned his best first class season haul with 63 wickets in a team that was relegated.

 

Silverwood has figured less in one day cricket, though his explosive batting potential saw him moved up the order in some limited overs matches at Yorkshire.

 

He has now notched up 500 first class wickets and, if he stays fit, should be able to add considerably to that total.

 

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2006 John Dobson)