The former England coach is now in charge of a young Sri Lankan side with a chance to knock England out of the T20 World Cup
Chris Silverwood’s last act as England head coach was to unload 15 cricket bags off the terminal five carousel at Heathrow in January.
Ten months later he has the chance to send his old employers packing from Australia if his new team Sri Lanka beat England in Sydney on Saturday.
Since his sacking a few weeks after his arrival home from that wretched Ashes tour, where England were outplayed in every possible way, Silverwood has quietly started rebuilding his career.
Sri Lanka is not the easiest job for a foreign coach. Trevor Bayliss, one of Silverwood’s predecessors with England and Sri Lanka, tells how he once decided to drop a big name player only for a selection meeting to be called with that player present. He played, Bayliss learned who was in charge and it was not the overseas coach.