Trevor Bayliss becomes England’s first coach from Australia
Strong, silent and one of cricket’s quiet achievers, Trevor Bayliss may need that stoicism to accompany all his expertise when he becomes the first Australian coach to take charge of England in an Ashes series.
After 138 years of Anglo-Australian battles in one of the world’s greatest sporting rituals, the 52-year-old, appointed as England’s head coach on Tuesday, will find himself in a unique and challenging position when the series begins in July.
Bayliss comes on board at a propitious time for English cricket as it celebrates a potential turning point after a miserable run, with rejuvenated captain Alastair Cook and flamboyant all-rounder Ben Stokes inspiring a thrilling win over New Zealand at Lord’s on Monday.
Yet all that optimism could swiftly evaporate if, in the first Test at Cardiff beginning on July 10, Australia swiftly continue their ascendancy over England following the 5-0 series whitewash in 2013-14 and a succession of one-day and T20 victories.
Indeed, the man who has been coaching New South Wales will be asked to help improve a shocking record which has seen England beat his home country just once in 18 matches in all forms of the game since September 2013.
It represents the toughest possible introduction to the job but there are plenty of luminaries who will attest to the New South Welshman being exactly the sort of calm, unfussy winner who will thrive in the Ashes cauldron.
“I know him well,” Shane Warne, the great Australian leg spinner, told Sky Sports.
“On all the reports, he’s done a wonderful job with the teams he’s coached, whether it be Sri Lanka, the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL (Indian Premier League), New South Wales, Big Bash.
“I think he’s more of a ‘background’ sort of coach, a bit like in the New Zealand camp. He’s not front and square all the time, but he’s not afraid to give a few rockets when they’re needed. He’s a good man, Trevor Bayliss, a really good man.
“He gets the best out of his team. He is harsh but fair. He plays the game in the right spirit too. He likes to play an exciting brand of cricket.”
‘EXCIING BRAND’
That new “exciting brand” was in evidence in the New Zealand Test but it is also Bayliss’s exceptional record in one-day cricket that offers England hope that, after the shambles of the recent World Cup, he may be the man to help revolutionise their fortunes in the 50-over and 20-over formats.
Bayliss’s CV is laden with trophies, particularly in the one-day game, with the World Cup being the one major title to elude him after he reached the final with Sri Lanka in 2011.
He has twice guided New South Wales to the Sheffield Shield in 2005 and 2014 and also won the ING Cup, Australia’s 50-over competition.
Bayliss has won the IPL twice with Kolkata Knight Riders and led Sydney Sixers to the 2012 Big Bash title.
As the ECB’s Director of England Cricket, Andrew Strauss said on Tuesday: “Trevor has an outstanding record as coach, has global experience and is very highly regarded in the game.
“He has proved himself in both domestic and international cricket, has a strong reputation for man-management and has shown how to build winning teams in all three formats.”
A decent batsman with New South Wales himself, Bayliss played 58 first-class matches between 1985 and 1993.
He played alongside Steve Waugh, one of the great Australia captains, who was so impressed by Bayliss that, during his spell playing county cricket in England at Kent, he invited his old team mate to help with coaching duties.
Now Bayliss will be charged with spearheading England’s bid to regain the Ashes and masterminding a fourth successive home series win over his home country.
