England's coach Trevor Bayliss ready to invest his faith in the spinners
England coach Trevor Bayliss has claimed that he would not be hesitant to pick two spinners in his playing XI for the forthcoming test matches, even after a disheartening performance from them in the recently concluded test series against Pakistan in the UAE, ESPN Cricinfo reports.
The Australian believes that if the fans are patient enough for the time being, eventually the spinners will come out good.
The Three Lions fell down to the sixth position in the ICC Test Rankings after the 2-0 series defeat against the Asian giants, who themselves moved up to second in the list.
England will play South Africa next in a test series which starts on 26th December, the Boxing day, in Proteas’ backyard. Given the conditions and pitches in South Africa, it is doubtful that Bayliss will use two spinners.
The coach himself admitted that his team composition depends on the conditions and opponents, he said, "We'll look at the conditions and team we are playing, their strengths and weaknesses, I wouldn't have any problem at all playing two spinners against an opposition we thought were weaker against spin than pace.”
“If that means we play an inexperienced spinner because of it, well that's how they get experience - by playing. If that means we have a bit of short-term pain for a bit of long-term gain then so be it."
The three spinners who represented England in the test series against Pakistan were Moeen Ali, Samit Patel and Adil Rashid. They collectively grabbed 20 wickets at an average of 60.01, according to ESPN Cricinfo.
"I think we've got the three best spinners here at the moment. I'm sure they're a little disappointed as well, especially this Test match, I thought we probably bowled a few too many full-tosses, long-hops and half-volleys in this match - which is unusual,” he said.
"But having said that, for three inexperienced bowlers, it's not easy bowling against some of the best batters against spin in the world. That does put extra pressure on you. Then having to perform, and put the ball on the spot, under that type of pressure is something they're going to have to become accustomed to. They're going to have to work it out, and get better in those circumstances," the ex-Sri Lanka coach added.
Rashid, however, managed a 5-wicket haul in the first match of the series, but was not able to carry the momentum in the following matches, and finished the series with an average of 69.50.
Talking about his performance, Bayliss said, "He's taken a five-wicket haul, he's batted extremely well, he's fitted into the team off the field extremely well. If it was against another team that wasn't as good against spin the results might have been a lot better.”
“It's a tough initiation against these guys, the way they play spin bowling. That's not taking away from the fact he has some improvements to make, some things to work on, and it will be hard work, it's not going to be an easy free ride for him," he continued.
The England coach, who joined the national team back in May this year, is thought to be a believer of including two spinners in the squad since his New South Wales days. The Australian reiterated his belief on the same,
"I've only been in England three months, but there's always talk of the type of wickets not being conducive to spin, captains that can use spin bowlers in the right ways. There are a number of areas that we can make improvements going forward … but the simple fact is if we want to be the best Test team in the world then we have to have two or three top-line spinners,” he said.
The English team plays Pakistan in a 4-match ODI series starting from 11th November, followed by a 3-match T20 series.