Other batsmen need to chip in with Joe Root says England head coach Chris Silverwood

England head coach Chris Silverwood wants his other batsmen to step up to the task and start contributing and helping their captain Joe Root to ensure that he is not under pressure all the time when he comes out to bat. Joe Root scored one of his best Test centuries against India in the opening Test of the five-match series and made sure England took the game deep and managed to set India a target of 207 runs. 

England’s top three has been under immense pressure for not being able to contribute on a consistent basis. The likes of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley haven't been able to score consistently which has put England under a spot of bother on several occasions. 

"Yeah, I think we do," England coach Chris Silverwood said on Monday when he was asked whether his team was overly reliant on Joe Root. 

"I mean Joe's been phenomenal for the last six months really scoring runs for us. And what we need to do is make sure that the guys that are batting with him are coming to the party as well. So that's one thing which we're talking about in the dressing room constantly. And it's something that I've spoken to the batting coaches as well.

"Encourage conversations between the players and the coaches to try and find a solution for this to try and help them get better. It's not through lack of effort. It's not a lack of hard work, it's just a case of we have to try and find a formula that works. That's a work in progress at the moment," he added.

The first of the five-match series ended in a draw after rain played spoilsport throughout the Test match. Despite losing a day in the Test match, the match was going down to the wire and a classic final day was on our hands. However, persistent showers forced the umpires to abandon the match. 

Fringe opener Haseeb Hameed who made a comeback to the national squad will be in contention for a return in the playing XI after below-par outings from the openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley. Silverwood said that Hameed has made a strong case for himself and could be given an opportunity in some part of the series. 

 I'm confident he's as ready as he could be," added Silverwood. He put his best foot forward in Durham when he scored that hundred and what he did an early season in the championship shows there's a lot of class there as well,” he added. 

"I think he is making a very strong case and at some point, we may make a decision and give him an opportunity.”

Lord’s will host the second Test of the five-match series starting on 12th August (Thursday).