Let’s front up this time says Bayliss
TREVOR BAYLISS will tell his inexperienced one- day side to chase their opponents hard at Old Trafford today, saying the Australians have proved vulnerable frontrunners this summer.
But the England coach’s own focus remains fi xed fi rmly not on the reigning world champions, who lead this ODI series 2- 0, but on the next World Cup.
“In the past they have been good front- runners but as we saw in the Tests they have been up and down in that respect as well,” said Bayliss.
“From our point of view, hopefully that continues in this series and we can turn things round.
“But while of course we want to win every series we play in, that is not possible and we also have a four- year plan, which is to do well and hopefully win the next World Cup; to realise that we’ve got to have a depth of players and reserves ready to go, and if we never give some of those guys on the fringes a go we won’t know if they’ve got the goods.
“That’s what we’ll be looking at – guys in different positions and trying to work out exactly what the best combination is. Also, who the replacements are if someone’s out of form or injured, who can come in and do the same job.”
The absence of Joe Root for this series has undoubtedly weakened England for all that James Taylor is a handy replacement. Jos Buttler at his best would be a certain starter and Stuart Broad would also possible 50- over option in strength side.
But as Bayliss emphasised, the importance of establishing those who have the steel for this level of competition is his priority.
“We’ve got three younger guys, more inexperienced guys at the top of the order [ Jason Roy, Alex Hales and Taylor] who have done OK without being brilliant,” said Bayliss. “We’d like to see one or two of those guys go on and make a big hundred as well.” Bayliss is also pondering ways to try out Moeen Ali at the top of the order, even if it may not be today.
The return of Jonny Bairstow – initially left out of the squad despite his series- winning heroics be a a full against New Zealand and Buttler’s growing fatigue – as well as the expected return of David Willey adds threedimensional muscle to the side.
Australia are expected to make three changes with Ashton Agar the most eye- catching, the left- arm spinner returning to the international fold two years after his two Test matches and his memorable record- breaking 98- run knock from No 11 at Nottingham in 2013.
Agar is expected to replace Shane Watson, with Aaron Finch coming in for the injured David Warner and James Pattinson for Nathan Coulter- Nile.
Bayliss acknowledged Australia remain a formidable side but attempted to sow a seed of doubt in their heads when suggesting they could be vulnerable today.
Of more signifi cance is the return north, where Australia have struggled. The further away from London they have gone the worse they have played – a fact Finch, who has much experience with Yorkshire, articulated well.
“The wicket here is generally nice – if you get in you can cash in. But you tend to get pretty good wickets down south and up north they tend to be a bit slower,” he said.
A slower surface would suit England’s batsmen better and enable them to get a foothold in the series.
FORMER England batsman Vikram Solanki, 39, has announced his retirement. He played 51 ODIs and three T20s.