Bayliss was bowled over by his start in Glasgow
HE is one of the most successful coaches of his generation and the man who led England to the most dramatic World Cup win in history — but his first meaningful steps in coaching can be traced back to the humble setting of West of Scotland cricket club in Glasgow.
Trevor Bayliss, the genial Australian in charge as England beat New Zealand after a Super Over at Lord’s in the 2019 ICC World Cup final, was an established middle-order batsman with New South Wales when he signed to play for the Partick-based side during the off-season in 1989.
He had his first real taste of coaching there, with part of his deal seeing him asked to pass on his knowledge to schoolkids at the High School of Glasgow.
Bayliss went on to enjoy spells in charge of New South Wales, Sri Lanka, Sydney Sixers, Kolkata Knight Riders, England and the Sunrisers Hyderabad and is still in high demand, having recently been appointed head coach of Sydney Thunder for the next three Big Bash seasons. His achievements — particularly with England, where he won the World Cup and the Ashes — have been well documented but his time in Scotland has flown under the radar until now.
‘I spent two summers in Scotland. My wife Julie and I loved our time there and still have lots of good friends from those days,’ said the 58-year-old, who joined West of Scotland as their professional when he was 26-years-old and helped them win the 1989 Scottish Cup and the Western Union league title the following season.
‘If you were lucky enough to play some first class cricket, as I was at the time with New South Wales, you could get a small contract to become the club professional in the UK.
‘I did have somewhere to go in Kent but it fell through at the last moment and then Jack Simmons, an English county player who at the time was a player manager, said, “What about Scotland then?”
‘There was a club in Glasgow looking for a club pro and I said OK. I’d never been to Scotland and when I flew in with my wife it was the first time I had been to the UK. I’m so glad we did.’
As well as playing for West, Bayliss was encouraged by West captain Colin Mair to help out at the High School of Glasgow. His Scottish friends still tease him that West of Scotland gave him his first big break in coaching.
‘I spent an afternoon or two a week coaching the cricket teams, which was good fun,’ he recalled. ‘If I look back from where I am now, my career is a culmination of all my cricket experiences. You don’t get to a certain point just by mistake.
‘It is about things added up. Certainly, those two-and-a-bit years in Scotland were very much part of that journey and I have a lot to thank a lot of great people for. It makes up a part of my story.’
Bayliss had been part of a magnificent New South Wales team from 1985 until 1997 that included Test stars such as former Australian captain Steve Waugh. Bayliss was their player of the season for 1989-90 — in between those two spells in Scotland — scoring two centuries in a total of 992 runs that season.
‘I was quite surprised by the standard when I got to Scotland as I didn’t know anything about Scottish cricket at the time,’ he said. ‘I found that the top 20 or 30 players in the Western Union league were decent players and a lot were playing for Scotland at the time.
‘Every team had three or four very decent players in their line-up, some really good.
‘Our captain was Colin Mair, who was the oldest in his mid-30s, and players like David Snodgrass were in the Scotland team at the time. Angus Montgomery was another good player and Mickey Richardson had some good pace with the ball and opened the bowling.
‘Colin would bowl first change and David would bowl some medium pace. I was going through the team in my head last night and although it was more than 30 years ago, apart from a few first names, I could name them all.’
Bayliss loved Scotland so much that he seriously thought about coming back for a third year and taking over from West Indian Test legend Gordon Greenidge as the national team’s professional in the Benson and Hedges one-day tournament in 1990.
Ultimately, he remained at New South Wales for the remainder of his playing career before embarking on full-time coaching with massive success.
Cricket fans everywhere remembers the incredible win by his England team over New Zealand in the ODI World Cup final, with his Scottish pals showering him with congratulatory texts and phone calls afterwards.
There is also another game that Bayliss’ Scottish friends will never let him forget either — Scotland’s 2018 ODI victory over his England team at the Grange in Edinburgh remains one of the highlights of Scottish cricket history.
‘From an England point of view, they would think most times they are going to win against Scotland, so it was a bad day for us,’ said the Australian. ‘But from a Scottish point of view, it was a great day.
‘There was a bit of sledging coming my way and we had a laugh about it at my expense afterwards. I took it on the chin.
‘We didn’t play well that day and Scotland deserved their win. They batted and bowled well under pressure. All credit to them and it was a forerunner to future success.’
Bayliss was delighted to see Scotland progress to the ‘Super12’ stage of the T20 World Cup with wins over Oman, Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh but was disappointed they failed to build on that in the latter stages.
‘Scotland showed during the World Cup they have some very good players,’ said Bayliss. ‘It is no accident they have got to where they are currently as they have been slowly building. Hopefully they will become full ICC members one day.
‘They are doing well and this is a development phase for them. The more they get to play against the best opposition, the better they will get.
‘Some of their results might be a bit lopsided just now but any team worth their salt will learn from that and up their game to compete at that level.
‘The ultimate goal is to get full membership, which would delight me if it happens. From a worldwide cricket point of view, it would be great to have 15 to 20 teams competing at the top level and Test matches involving Scotland eventually.’
lWest of Scotland CC has been sponsored by McCrea Financial Services since 2006 as keen supporters of cricket in Scotland. See mccreafs.co.uk