Three times Silverwood had to recover from the disappointment of being called up by England against New Zealand and then discarded. However as a result of injuries he was called up to join the full England tour of South Africa from the 'A' tour place he had secured. He refused to be downcast by the setbacks of the season, and bowled with great enthusiasm for Yorkshire throughout the summer, his reward being his best-ever haul of 59 Championship wickets at 20.40 runs apiece. Very much on the mark, also, in the National League in which he claimed 24 wickets at a frugal cost of 15.04 runs apiece.