Bayliss must sharpen axe
IF THIS humiliating innings defeat by New Zealand does not prompt England to make changes for Friday’s final Test in Christchurch, then nothing will.
Not even the weather, which wiped out 141 overs of this opening day-night Test, could save Joe Root’s team after they were routed for 58 on the first day.
They did at least show some fight on the fifth day, with halfcenturies from Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes helping England battle through 79.1 overs to take the contest into the final session.
The end result was depressingly familiar, though, as Root’s men slumped to their fifth defeat in six Tests during a nightmare winter that includes a 4-0 Ashes thumping. It extended England’s winless away run to 12 matches – their worst sequence since the Second World War.
Yet perhaps the most damning statistic of them all is the fact this was the fifth time England have been beaten by an innings in their past eight overseas Tests.
Something has to change in Christchurch, and now is the time to act if this group of players are to avoid becoming the first England team to lose a Test series to New Zealand since 1999, when England slumped to the bottom of the world rankings. England had started the final day with seven wickets in hand but the early loss of Dawid Malan just 17 minutes in set the tone, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali following before the first interval.
Stokes and Woakes frustrated New Zealand for most of the middle session before the former was bounced out by Neil Wagner. The final three wickets then fell within 55 minutes of the final session to seal England’s fate.
Players need to know there are consequences for poor displays and coach Trevor Bayliss must be ruthless with Moeen first to go. The all-rounder had a stunning English summer in 2017, taking 30 Test wickets at 21.30 and scoring 596 runs across all formats at 75.15, but his figures were horrendous in Australia,