Trevor Bayliss was assigned the role of England’s coach in 2015. (Source: AP)
England’s systemic failure in Australia has finally led to its first casualty. This was after England coach Trevor Bayliss announced that he will step down from his position in 2019 when his contract expires. However, Bayliss, who was given the top job in 2015, has called for patience as he will attempt to rebuild the Three Lions squad before making way for his successor.
“I’ve never been anywhere more than four or five years. Whether you’re going well or not, I have always felt that it’s time for a change around about that four-year mark – a new voice, a different approach reinvigorates things,” Bayliss said while explaining the reason behind his decision.
Bayliss also revealed that he had spoken to Andrew Strauss, the England managing director, of his plans a year ago. “I told Andrew Strauss (director of England cricket) probably 12 months ago that September 2019 is when I’m contracted to and that would see me out,” the 54-year-old said.
Ironically, during the Ashes, Bayliss had said he was the right man to lead England. “I think I’m the right man to lead the team forward. But it’s for people above my pay grade to make the decision about my future, so we’ll leave it up to them.” Hence, why he made this decision remains as a matter of conjecture.
When asked if the Ashes debacle will once again lead to drastic changes in the England set-up in the near future, Bayliss opined that he does not expect such a thing to occur this time. “I can’t see any big changes. We’ve known for a couple of years that we have been three or four performing players short of a very, very good team. We’ve had some good performances at home in Test cricket, but that has been on the back of our big five or six players,” he concluded by saying.