Trevor Bayliss’ last few months as coach of England has been quite a ride as they won the World Cup after beating New Zealand in a thrilling final before coming from behind to save the five match Ashes series at 2-2, even though Australia returned home with the urn. The Oval Test, where the Ashes series was drawn, was Bayliss’ last game as England coach.
England have in recent times treated red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket very differently and Bayliss feels picking two coaches for formats might lead to problems in co-ordination.
“It is a difficult one of whether you have one or two coaches. If you have two coaches how do they work together? Ashley Giles will probably go with one coach and that head coach needs a little more time away from the game and that will also allow the assistant coaches more experiences at the helm," Bayliss told Sky Sports after the Oval Test which England won.
“In a few years you then have a few more homegrown Englishmen candidates to select from as the next head coach," he added.
Looking back, the Australian says that he and the coaching staff did not expect the summer to be this hard when they began their preparations.
“For all the coaching staff it has been a long summer. It was tough and we were so close to both trophies but we will take one."
“To finish off well and level up the series (Ashes) I think we showed a lot of character. 2-2 was a fair score. Both teams had their chances to win the series. We certainly did not play as well as we would have liked to."
Bayliss, for whom the World Cup win was the most cherished moment this summer, believes that it was a change in attitude that culminated into the triumphant moments at Lord’s.
“When it was all happening, you’re as nervous as anyone. I don’t think up on the balcony we realised or I realised what a great game it was. It was not until everything settled down and all the messages came flooding in that the realisation came of what the boys had achieved."
The World Cup triumph at Lord’s was something they had planned meticulously after the 2015 World Cup debacle. Part of the plan was to bring Bayliss in, who took over and started his journey in the Ashes.
“Looking back to the 2015 World Cup England probably played the game a little bit old-fashioned. It was about bringing in players more attuned to playing the more modern style of game.
“Whoever was going to win this World Cup was going to need a bold attitude and we stuck to our guns throughout the four years, even in some tough periods.
“It allowed us to have some tough conversations with the boys but they stuck to what they believed in and over time they also learned to adapt."
Among the things that helped changed the transition of the England side was the introduction of Jofra Archer, a delicate matter in the scheme of things, and the rejuvenation of Ben Stokes, who Bayliss acknowledged has grown immensely.
“Ben is his own greatest success. Coaches can only lead teams or players in a certain direction but in the end it is up to those players to grab hold of the situation and improve. Ben on and off the field has grown unbelievably well.
“It is a delicate one with Jofra Archer as he will obviously be in every team and I think maybe in Test cricket. I know Joe Root relied on him for longer spells in this series but going forward I think it might be more about shorter spells of four or five overs."