Bayliss supports Root decision as England struggle
ENGLAND’S hopes of retaining the Ashes hang by a thread, but coach Trevor Bayliss insisted they were still in with a chance of winning the second Test in Adelaide as playin the third day got underway this mornng.
Rain brought a premature end to the second day with England still trailing by more than 400 runs.
But Bayliss insisted: “We’re here to win. Which means batting all day tomorrow and well into the fourth day.
“No-one said it was going to be easy. But we’ve got the batters to do it. They’re confident. There’s a good feeling in the dressing room. There were certainly not disheartened at all.”
Bayliss and his side can take heart from the fact that three teams in recent years have lost after scoring more than 400 in the first innings at Adelaide, including England in 2006-07.
But it is by far the unlikeliest of the three scenarios, given bowling conditions were friendly enough for Joe Root to invite the Australians to bat on the first morning, a decision Bayliss defended.
“No, he wouldn’t do anything different,” Bayliss said. “It’s well documented that one of our challenges is taking wickets on flatter pitches. So Joe wanted to give our guys the best opportunity to take 20 wickets. It didn’t work out, although I thought we bowled pretty well.
“Look, it wasn’t an easy decision. But we didn’t get the results we deserved. The first morning, I felt we were a little bit short. The next two sessions we bowled really well.
“Another day, another two or three nicks might have had us in a different position. It might have evened up Trent Bridge two years ago, when they nicked everything [and were bowled out for 60].”
England’s tactic so far this series has been to cut off Australia’s supply of runs and force them into mistakes. It was a plausible tactic, but so far Australia have steadfastly refused to play ball. Which means that England’s attack has begun to look very toothless very quickly, lacking the extreme pace that can extract wickets on flat pitches.
Bayliss was asked to put his finger on why England struggles to produce extreme pace bowlers.
“The wickets aren’t necessarily conducive to fast bowling,” he said. “Maybe that’s a little disheartening. The amount of cricket played could be an issue. It may be cyclical as well.
“It’s well documented they’ve got three guys who are quicker than ours, but you’ve still got to be able to move the ball. There’s no use wishing that someone else is going to come with a click of the fingers. That’s all we’ve got.”
Actually, England do have someone they can summon with a click of the fingers: Mark Wood, currently in Perth with the Lions. But he looked a little undercooked during a warm-up game in Brisbane on Monday, as a Queensland XI ran up almost 400 in a day, and Bayliss admitted that he was not in line for selection as things stood.
“We’ve not actually spoken about it,” he said. “We wanted to see him play in the Lions first. We haven’t spoken to him or Andy [Flower] to see how he is. Before we contemplate that, he has to show his fitness.”
Meanwhile Ben Stokes (below) endured a torrid time with bat and ball as he suffered defeat on his Canterbury debut against Otago in New Zealand’s 50-over Ford Trophy.
The Cumbrian flew to New Zealand, the place of his birth, earlier in the week and signed as an overseas player for Canterbury on Thursday. Stokes is still waiting to hear if he will be charged by police after being arrested over a late-night fracas in Bristol in September — an incident which saw him suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The episode has seen England lose their talisman for the ongoing Ashes series and the chances of him joining the squad appear slim given that Avon and Somerset Police have passed their file to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice on whether to charge him.
On the field, the all-rounder was dismissed for two and then failed to take a wicket in his nine overs as Otago claimed a three-wicket win.
Otago won the toss and elected to bowl in Rangiora and Stokes was brought to the crease earlier than anticipated as Canterbury fell to five for two inside three overs.
However, the 26-year-old’s innings only lasted seven balls as he played on to 33-year-old leftarm spinner Anaru Kitchen to leave his new side struggling on 10 for three.
They eventually reached 221 for nine in their 50 overs, with Stokes then opening the bowling, a four-over spell producing 26 runs.
He was brought back for a second four-over stint in the 19th and while he conceded just 15 runs, Rob Nicol managed to hit for six.
A clatter of wickets saw Otago collapse from 175 without loss to 198 for seven, but Stokes ended with figures of nought for 49 off nine overs.