England happy to chase victory despite setbacks
● Coach Bayliss says batting second will not worry his players against Australia
Trevor Bayliss insists England will not be scared to bat second in their World Cup semi-final clash with Australia.
Defeat to South Africa on Saturday means it will be old enemies Australia standing between England and a place in the 2019 final.
The pair meet at Edgbaston on Thursday with Australia having already beaten the hosts during the group stages.
England also lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, batting second in all of their three group-stage defeats.
But head coach Bayliss has no concerns that England will panic if they find themselves in the position of chasing down a score.
“Over the past four years we have won 14 of the last 17 times we have batted second,” he told BBC Radio 5Live’s Sportsweek programme.
“So batting second doesn’t scare our guys and the wickets are a little better now than they were earlier in the tournament. We are full of confidence and happy to be in the semi-finals.”
Asked about losing to Australia earlier in the tournament, Bayliss added: “I think it was more to do with the way we approached the game.
“We came in off a bad loss to Sri Lanka in the game before where we got completely away from our style of play, I guess, and I think there was still a bit of a hangover in that next match.
“After that the boys made a commitment to going out – win, lose or draw – to play to their strengths and we did that in the next two games and put in a good performance, so it is about sticking to our processes and how we play well.”
Whether they bat first or second, semi-final success for England is likely to depend on whether openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow can enjoy another impressive partnership.
The pair have been key in recent matches, with Roy restored to the team following a hamstring injury.
The 28-year-old has developed into a pivotal part of the England limited-overs set-up, but Bayliss admits he is under consideration for a place in the Ashes squad later this year.
“I think so,” he replied when asked if Roy could make the move to Test cricket.
“Whether it is at the top of the order or at number three, there is no secret that in Test cricket we have been looking for a solid combination at the top of the order, especially since Cooky [Alastair Cook] retired last year.
“Jason has had success at international cricket and that goes a long way to being able to handle the pressure, so it is a definite option and one we have spoken about around the selection table for the last 12 months or so and I’m quite sure that will be a big discussion point over the next few weeks.”
The umpires for both semifinal clashes were confirmed yesterday, with Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus in the middle for England’s Edgbaston fixture.
Meanwhile, English officials Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough will preside over India against New Zealand at Old Trafford tomorrow.
“Jason Roy has had success in international cricket and that goes a long way to being able to handle the pressure” TREVOR BAYLISS