No song, no dance. No ego, no big promises, no ghastly management-speak. England’s new head coach, Trevor Bayliss, walked out to bat for his first press conference as a simple, plain-speaking Aussie, and calmly made a 50 on his debut.
Bayliss did not offer snake oil or magic. He even down-played the coach’s role in cricket, saying the senior players in a team make the best coaches for youngsters. His emphasis is on keeping things simple — like his dress of an England T-shirt and stubble that was the result of all his plane flights rather than designer — and on creating a happy environment to minimise the pressure on his players.
Bayliss had originally applied for the England job last year, in succession to Andy Flower, to be told that the ECB preferred an Englishman in Peter Moores. So he was concentrating on his two jobs in domestic cricket when another window opened.
“I didn’t accept it straight away,” Bayliss said of the England job. “I was quite happy doing what I was doing, I was in a good space with those two appointments and my family situation suited. But when the opportunity came up with a team like England it was very difficult to knock back.” And already, by “we”, he means England.
He is Australian though, the first England have had, and the third from overseas after the Zimbabweans Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower. England supporters cannot expect their players to behave like New Zealanders, silent and sporting.
“I’m all for playing the game in an aggressive manner,” Bayliss said. “It gets down to how individuals actually are able to put up with it — how they are able to react to it or whether they react to it. Some will and some won’t.
“What I’d like to see is actually some witty comments so we all get a bit of a laugh out of it. There won’t be any surprises when it comes to the English players about what happens out on the field. Enough of those guys have played the Australian guys.”
Aus favourites: Pietersen
Exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen says Australia are favourites to win the upcoming Ashes, but has warned them that the hosts will not go down without a fight.
Pietersen, currently with St lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier league (CPl), said it will be closer between Australia and England than most think, but maintained that the visitors would retain the coveted urn.
“The Ashes is going to be very close, much closer than we think. Australia have the edge in certain areas but it’s not going to be three, four or five nil,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by TalkSport radio while speaking to ex-English pacer Darren Gough on Wednesday.