Trevor Bayliss: “I think I’m the right man to lead the team forward”
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Despite losing the Ashes with two Tests to go, Trevor Bayliss thinks he is still the right man to be coaching England.
England have yet to be beaten on home soil since Bayliss took over as head coach in 2015 as they defeated Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa. They also drew with Pakistan.
However, it is a much different story in regards to their overseas record as their only win under Bayliss came in South Africa in early 2016.
Other than that, they have lost in India, fallen to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and been held to a 1-1 draw by Bangladesh.
With their disastrous tour of Australia providing the latest chapter in their disappointing record away from home, there are some people who will no doubt be questioning whether Bayliss should be replaced.
However, the 54-year-old insists that he is the right man for the job.
“I think I’m the right man to lead the team forward,” Bayliss said. “I think our performances have been pretty good over the last couple of years.
“We won every series during the English summer. But it’s for people above my pay grade to make the decision about my future, so we’ll leave it up to them.
“In conditions away from home that don’t necessarily suit us, we need to be better, whether it’s with the bat or the ball. We need to get more experience.
“Cricket Australia won’t let our players come and play [Sheffield] Shield cricket, that’s for sure, so maybe we should look at it the other way, and stop a few Aussie boys [coming to England] to get that experience?
“A lot of the young batters – the likes of Joe Clarke, Dan Lawrence, Keaton Jennings and Liam Livingstone – played well here for the Lions squad. They’re the best young players coming through in England at the moment.
“We’ve got to try and get them as much experience in foreign conditions as we can if we want to be successful away from home.”
While England will be looking to salvage some pride in the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, Bayliss conceded that numerous senior players in the side have failed to live up to expectations.
Opening batsman Alastair Cook has scored 83 runs at an average of 13.83, while pace bowler Stuart Broad has only picked up five wickets at an average of 61.80. As for all-rounder Moeen Ali, he has accumulated 116 runs at 19.33 and taken three wickets at an average of 105.33.
Despite this, Bayliss admitted that he “hasn’t given any thoughts whatsoever to making changes” ahead of the last two Tests.
“There are a few guys disappointed they haven’t done as well as they would have liked,” he said. “I wish I knew why they have underperformed.
“They know the consequences of not playing well and Alastair has played the game for long enough to know when it’s time to go.
“They are all extremely good international cricketers and I expect them to come back from this – you need to have guys putting their name up in lights to take over.
“I haven’t given any thought whatsoever to making changes. We’ll have to see how these last couple of games in the series go.”