England ready to keep faith with Jos Buttler and Joe Denly for second West Indies Test

Head coach Chris Silverwood is willing the pair to produce their best - an indication they could remain in the team at Emirates Old Trafford

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Jos Buttler and Joe Denly have been given a vote of confidence ahead of England's second Test against West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford.

Of the players to feature in the four-wicket defeat at The Ageas Bowl, the Lancashire and Kent stars are perhaps most vulnerable.

While Buttler scored 35 and 9 with the bat - he also dropped matchwinner Jermaine Blackwood during the Windies chase - Denly registered knocks of 18 and 29.

Indeed, with captain Joe Root returning to the XI, the Kent batsman could be dropped, particularly after Zak Crawley impressed again in Southampton.

Head coach Chris Silverwood appears set to keep faith with the troubled 34-year-old and admits the whole team are willing him to succeed.

^{Ben Foakes is the designated back-up to Jos Buttler}

"We're all desperate to see Joe do really well," he said of Denly, who averages 29.53 and is yet to score a century in his 28 Test innings. "You can see that he is trying hard and training well and he's a great bloke, hence why we want to see him do well. He's probably feeling the pressure a little bit."

Crawley enhanced his selection credentials with a fine 76 in the second innings to help build England's lead - a fine knock which saw him up the rate and turn the Test on its head. It remains to be seen whether the second half-century of his short international career will be enough to see him remain but Silverwood was an impressed spectator.

"He certainly showed maturity and the innings he played was very good. We've got some young players in that side that have some good heads on their shoulders. 

"I thought the innings he played was really good. We would have liked to have seen him go on and potentially get to those three figures. But what he did was very good and helped us get into a good position.

"That's what we're looking for. If we can create an environment where those guys can continually learn then we're going to end up with some very good cricketers on our hands. That's what we're trying to do. Zak is improving constantly."

^{Zak Crawley could miss out in Manchester despite his half-century at The Ageas Bowl}

Further down the order Buttler's position is perhaps more secure yet remains under scrutiny. Surrey's Ben Foakes is his deputy in the group, with Jonny Bairstow having moved to the white-ball bubble, but with little recent cricket to go on the man in possession looks set to remain.

With just one century in 42 Tests and a single fifty in his last 21 innings, it remains a mystery why Buttler has been unable to transfer his white-ball form into the longest format. But if Silverwood's comments are any indication, the Lancashire man will be given every opportunity to recapture his best form.

"He looked brilliant coming into this game, in practice and everything and looked good in the first innings," he added.

"He just needs to make those big scores now. From our point of view, it is just making sure he feels comfortable in the environment he is in so that he can succeed.

"I am not going to go down that road of putting Jos under pressure because I don't think it is going to help him. First and foremost we are going to give Jos the best opportunity to succeed. We have a very, very good gloveman in Ben Foakes who we're lucky to have."

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