Sydney, Jan 2 (IANS): Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie says he's got huge sympathy for England head coach Chris Silverwood, saying he understands the feelings when teams don't do well. Silverwood has come under the scanner after England lost the Ashes in just 12 playing days. Moreover, Silverwood is not a part of the Sydney Test due to being a close contact of a family member testing positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation in Melbourne.

"I've got huge sympathy for Chris Silverwood. Coaching can be a very lonely place when things are not going great. I understand the feelings when teams I've coached have not performed as we'd have liked. And the fact he has to miss this upcoming Test because of COVID, on top of all the scrutiny of the tour, just makes me feel terrible for him. I'm sure he is getting all the support he can get. That is vitally important," wrote Gillespie in his column for Daily Mail.

Gillespie, who has coached county sides Surrey and Yorkshire in the past, felt sorry for England's pacers not getting much time to rest their legs in the series. "I do believe England have had their moments in this series, despite the scoreline. I just feel sorry for the bowlers, who barely get a chance to put their feet up before they're out in the middle again. That's tiring and demoralising for any attack and across five Tests it can be debilitating."

"It's why I thought Australia played it perfectly at Adelaide, where they chose not to enforce the follow-on and instead put more overs in the English bowlers' legs. When you've got a struggling batting line-up, as England have, there's really no respite for your attack."

At the same time, Gillespie hasn't been impressed by the lengths bowled by England in the Ashes. "Having said that, I still don't understand the lengths the English guys have bowled. When Jimmy Anderson pitches it up and swings it, there is no one better in world cricket. And I always say that Stuart Broad has always been at his most dangerous when he aims fuller. In fact, when he's on a roll, I'm not sure there's ever been a more dangerous bowler in the history of the game.

"Look at the times he's run through sides, he didn't get eight for 15 at Trent Bridge by bowling bouncers. He tries to hit the top of off stump and gets edges and lbws and bowleds. The lengths England have gone with out here is nothing to do with the county game so, while I agree that it's always worth examining your own domestic structure, there are usually other factors."