"It's a collective rather than blaming one or two people" - Trevor Bayliss supports England captain and coach amid Ashes debacle
Former England coach Trevor Bayliss has urged fans, experts and the media not to hold Joe Root and Chris Silverwood solely responsible for the Ashes debacle. Instead, Bayliss highlighted that the system needs rectification to bring a change.
England have already conceded a 3-0 lead in the prevailing Ashes series, losing all three Tests heavily. The visitors' batting unit, collapsing in all three games, has been the biggest concern and has yet to pass 300 across six innings this series.
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Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Trevor Bayliss said he would stick with the current head coach and captain to take England forward. Bayliss refused to pin the responsibility of their Ashes on one or two people and feels the system is broken, demanding a lot out of its players.
"I would like to see England rally around them now because things are not going to improve overnight. It is the system above those in the firing line that needs to be looked at and it will take time to put processes in place to change things. It's a collective rather than blaming one or two people."
Bayliss also pointed out the effects of the pandemic on the side's performances:
There is no doubt England and the ECB have kept Test cricket alive during the pandemic by putting in so much hard work and expense to keep playing. Perhaps that has become part of England's problem. They have played so much and spent so long in bubbles during Covid that they have appeared jaded here."
While Root is likely to hold his spot as captain, Silverwood's position remains in grave danger. Several experts have underlined the need to revamp English county cricket to build a team that can compete in all conditions.
"The Australian system is clearly preparing players for Test cricket and England's is not" - Trevor Bayliss
Having resigned as England coach after the 2019 Ashes series, Trevor Bayliss admits the English system is not producing Test cricketers. The 59-year old mainly pinpointed the lack of potent top-order players:
"The Australian system is clearly preparing players for Test cricket and England's is not. And that leaves the ECB with hard questions to answer. I worked closely with Paul Farbrace and I saw what he wrote here about the same things being said now that we were saying when we were beaten in Australia four years ago. He is right."
Bayliss added:
"Notably, we were looking for top-order players capable of flourishing in Test cricket and that search goes on. I also remember asking why first-class cricket did not take place at better times during the English summer, with more white-ball at the start of the season. Certainly that should be the case if Test cricket is going to be the priority now."
England have an opportunity to restore some degree of pride in the remaining two Tests. The fourth Test starts on the 5th of January in Sydney.