Trevor Bayliss to empower England with positivity and aggressiveness
England coach, Trevor Bayliss, promises that his team will "fight fire with fire" in the upcoming Investec Ashes series this summer. In his first press conference, Bayliss suggested that the team hadn’t been doing as well as the rest of the world in the past few years, but he promised that the spirit shown in the recent series against New Zealand will be kept up by the team. He also reaffirms that Moeen Ali will remain England’s first choice in the spin department.
"You've got to get out and fight fire with fire," Bayliss said. "You have to be positive and aggressive. And individuals have to play their own natural game. If you are going to be successful against Australia it's certainly not going to be by taking a backward step, or allowing them to dictate terms.
"The way the game has been played over the last five or ten years, you could argue that maybe we haven't kept up to date maybe as some of the other teams. Whether you like it or not, the T20 format and the one-day format do have a bearing on the way the game is played at Test level. It's that philosophy of being positive and aggressive.”
This approach, however, may not necessarily lead to changes in the squad. He suggested that the batting order could be the same, with Gary Ballance at No. 3, followed by Ian Bell, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. The field position of Alastair Cook, Bell and Root at first, second and third slip respectively, will also remain the same.
"At the moment the batting order is fairly stable and we did a lot of slip catching in Spain. Certainly I think Cook, Bell and Root, from what I saw in practice, are our three best slippers", he said.
Bayliss insisted that he did not turn down the head coach’s position prior to this and he did not apply for the job this time. He also stated that he had no concerns in taking the job from a cricketing perspective.
"I had some issues around family - my youngest is in her last year at school - but when you get that call from one of the three big teams around the world, I felt very honoured. It came out of the blue. I certainly didn't put my name forward.
“I was quite happy doing what I was doing. I had just re-signed with New South Wales and Kolkata Knight Riders had a three-year deal on the table as well. But when the opportunity came up with a team like England it was very difficult knockback. From a family point of view it wasn't necessarily perfect timing but, from a cricket point of view, I had no reservations."
He added, "I've not seen him up close or worked with him before." when asked how he rated Cook’s leadership skills.
Cook, however, will be expected to hold the new positivity which Bayliss wants to inculcate in the English cricket team.
"With this group of players, you will see a bright, attacking style of cricket being played." Bayliss concluded.