Bayliss out after final Ashes fling
TREVOR BAYLISS says planning for the next Ashes here in Australia must start now but he has no intention of sticking around to see the job through. The England coach, who has overseen the 4-0 defeat Down Under, will quit his job after the home Ashes series next year. But he maintained that announcing his departure date will not stop him taking tough choices in order to ensure the next generation of players is ready to challenge Australia in four years’ time. “I told Andrew Strauss 12 months ago that I will be finishing up after September 2019. After four or five years it is time to move on whether you are doing well or not – a new voice that type of thing,” said Bayliss. “But I want to leave the job having helped England into a position of strength going forward, not just look after results for me. It has never been about me or the coach. It is about the team you’re working for and making them as good as possible in the future.” Bayliss was brought in by Strauss, director of England cricket, in the aftermath of a hapless 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to improve the fortunes of the white-ball teams – and given the Champions Trophy in 2017 and World Cup next year as targets. He has made significant progress for all that the first of those has already been missed, with England losing to eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-final IN SYDNEY last summer. In prioritising a decent showing on home turf in the second of those, the World Cup next year, the ECB backed themselves into a corner where they were never going to ditch Bayliss however badly they performed in the Ashes.
That will sit uncomfortably with many, given how badly they have been beaten, particularly as Bayliss has been noticeably hands-off in his approach to the point of not really influencing decisions on or off the field.
Strauss is tackling more important battles off the field with wife Ruth undergoing cancer treatment, which makes any kneejerk reactions to this series unlikely. But there will be a demand for new playing personnel if England fail to improve in New Zealand.
The appointment of Chris Silverwood, above, as bowling coach looks like succession planning given he has experience of the County Championship, is English and well regarded by the ECB hierarchy after good work with Yorkshire and Essex.
But much can happen between now and 2019 for all that Bayliss admitted having Silverwood has already added energy to the group.
“It’s exciting that he’s on board and he’s full of beans,” said Bayliss. “He got here a few days ago and he has jumped into the sessions already with the one-day boys. That will be a focus of his going forward, making sure that some of these young bowlers who come into the squad get up to speed as quick as possible.”
Further down the line, balancing the demands of producing a battle-hardened unit to tackle the Aussies here next time with winning series in the meantime and trying to win the World Cup will not be easy – a point Bayliss conceded.
“With one-day cricket you have a carrot every four years but with Test cricket you want to win every series and you have three or four a year,” said the coach.
“Some are held in higher regard than others, like the Ashes and India series, so there is a different planning that has to go into that.
“If we make a decision that the away Ashes series is the holy grail, you have to get guys in well ahead of 12 months out to give them enough experience so they can perform well.”
England have stuck with James Vince and Mark Stoneman for the upcoming tour of New Zealand despite their underwhelming returns with the bat in the Ashes.
But Bayliss appeared to suggest that if they fail in New Zealand, they could be out before the summer.
He said: “Those two guys have done enough without anyone really pushing them from behind and they probably deserve another opportunity.
“Vince has looked as comfortable as anyone in the runs he has scored here but then keeps making a mistake and gets out. They have been similar each time and that frustrates him more than any of us.
“It’s probably a bit technical but a lot of it is the mental side, knowing which balls to leave and when to attack and when not to.
“Both Vince and Stoneman, along with Dawid Malan, were probably our best performing batters in the first three games. Whether it was the pressure and the longevity of five Test matches close to each other or whether there was a fatigue and [their efforts] dropped off in the last couple of games, I don’t know. It could be that this being their first big fivematch series took its toll.”