Bayliss to quit
ENGLAND COACH WILL WALK AFTER NEXT ASHES...
Trevor Bayliss will quit as england coach at the end of the 2019 season but insists planning has to start now for the ‘Holy Grail’ of the next away ashes even though he won’t be around to complete the job.
The aftermath of another heavy defeat in australia saw england’s coach confirm yesterday that he will not renew his contract, which runs out after a home summer next year that features both the return ashes and a World Cup.
But Bayliss, 55, wants to begin the process of trying to build a Test side good enough to compete i n australia even though he has not been as successful with england in the long form of the game as in white-ball cricket.
The crushing disappointment of a 4-0 reverse here will see english cricket undergo another bout of soul-searching even though there are unlikely to be any high-profile casualties among the coaching and playing staff.
yet the australian, who was brought i n by team director andrew strauss primarily to improve england’s limited-overs cricket, says he will walk away i n september 2019 whatever happens in that summer.
‘i told andrew strauss 12 months ago that i’ll be finishing after september 2019,’ said Bayliss. ‘i’ve never been anywhere longer than four or five years. i think it’s time to move on after that whether you’re doing well or not because you need a new voice.
‘But i want to leave the job having helped england into a position of strength. it’s never been about the coach. it’s about the team and trying to make them as good as possible for the future.’
Bayliss is still highly regarded within the eCB and in his native australia, but his admission that he will leave next year does raise issues as to whether england need to again consider separate coaches for red and white-ball cricket.
The move did not work when they tried it with andy Flower and ashley Giles, but there is so much international cricket now that, increasingly, england are developing separate teams.
so why not different head coaches? Bayliss, who has overseen 18 Test defeats since taking over in 2015 compared to 15 wins, did not dismiss the idea of focusing solely on england’s preparations for next year’s 50-over World Cup.
‘it’s a question for andrew,’ said Bayliss when asked if england should have separate head coaches. ‘i love Test cricket more than white-ball. But i’m happy to do all formats.’
Bayliss denied that his brief of improving white-ball cricket had compromised the Test game and preparations for this ashes.
‘Certainly not,’ he said. ‘There has been a focus on one- day cricket, that’s what the eCB wanted with a home World Cup in 2019, but we made a point of saying Test cricket for the english is as big as any World Cup. We can’t forget about it and there certainly wasn’t a l ack of preparation coming into this series.
‘if the away ashes is the Holy Grail, you’re better making changes well in advance to give guys as much as experience as possible. That’s what we will look at.’
“I’ve never been anywhere longer than four or five years”