Bayliss: Farbrace should take over as our T20 coach

TREVOR BAYLISS is not afraid to tell it like it is. First the England coach said after the Ashes he would walk away at the end of his contract next year and now, after the latest disappointment in a winter full of them, he has named the man he thinks should succeed him and has offered to hand over the Twenty20 reins now.

There was much for Bayliss to discuss after a crushingly bad but pretty inconsequential Twenty20 tri-series ended with England not making the final and the Australian was in no mood to hold back.

Bayliss raised eyebrows in the aftermath of Sunday’s victory over New Zealand that saw England eliminated on net run-rate by saying Twenty20 internationals should be abolished from an overcrowded calendar.

The experienced coach elaborated on his thinking during a fascinating debrief before England turn their attention to a five-match one- day series against New Zealand that precedes two Tests.

‘It’s my opinion and I am not the only one to feel this way,’ said Bayliss. ‘There is so much cricket. The way we are heading you are almost forcing players like Adil Rashid to choose one form over another. I’d drop international Twenty20 rather than 50- overs because there is no 50-over franchise cricket. . From May last year, we were due to play 21 months out of 23. It’s tough.

Bayliss, who was recruited mainly for his white-ball expertise, feels international coaching will have to split if the overcrowding goes on.And a coach who has said he will not be around when the next World Twenty20 takes place in 2020 would quit the short-form game if the ECB wanted someone who will be.

‘Eventually you will have specialist coaches,’ said Bayliss. ‘Would I stand down as Twenty20 coach? That will obviously be a discussion with higher levels.’

The 55-year- old is adamant he will relinquish all his roles after next year’s 50-over World Cup and Ashes and he thinks it would make sense for him to be grooming his successor now. The best man for the job, he believes, is right under England’s noses.

‘Paul Farbrace would do a grand job,’ said Bayliss of his assistant. ‘If he was next it wouldn’t create too much of a problem at all.’

Bayliss has certainly set the hare running on his successor or successors and has made it clear he will do whatever is best for England in their respective formats.

For now they will make the most of him while he is here.