Just after being walloped 4-0 by Australia is not a strong position for the head coach to make pronouncements about how long he plans to stayThe career of an England cricket coach is like that of a politician: it always ends in failure. David Lloyd went when England were dumped out in the group stages of the 1999 World Cup, Duncan Fletcher after they were knocked out in the second round in 2007, Peter Moores was sacked when England were thumped in the 2015 tournament and Andy Flower quit after the Test side were whitewashed by Australia in 2013-14. So of course, after England’s battering in the Ashes, Trevor Bayliss’s days are numbered. The surprise is that he has been...
Joe Root and Trevor Bayliss safe despite Ashes humbling but selectors’ emphasis on character over record and a reluctance to shuffle the pack needs scrutinyIt has been gruelling for England’s players but they should not forget this Ashes tour in a hurry. Every humiliation, every defeat should be stored away.Remember it well: the preposterous head-butt, the missed opportunities such as Australia’s 209 for seven becoming 328 all out in Brisbane and England’s 368 for four becoming 403 all out in Perth, Steve Smith batting, the Marsh brothers reuniting, the bouncer barrage at the tail, Smith batting, left-handers groping against Nathan Lyon, the hashtag “Beat England” everywhere and repeated on our screens by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull one moment, Usain Bolt, even...
Selectors have plenty to ponder for Australia with batting issues, such as whether Joe Root will come in at No3, and a fast- bowling pack lacking varietyThe handbrake on Ashes speculation has been released with the conclusion of the Test series against West Indies. This may not be a good thing but it is inevitable. Even Trevor Bayliss, usually so wary about looking too far ahead, seems eager to enter the fray with observations about who he would prefer to bat at three and the likely provenance of the tour party. After the Lord’s Test he said the squad was likely to comprise only players chosen in the past 18 months, which is bad news for any blind-side runners around...
England captain went for the win in second Test but played into West Indies’ hands while displaying an overreliance on Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson“Same squad, different performance” is the message from the selectors after England’s startling defeat at Headingley. With surprising speed they announced the same 13 names in their squad for the decisive Lord’s Test against West Indies, which starts next Thursday. The most relieved man will be Tom Westley, who failed twice in Leeds, an outcome that inevitably reduces his chances of making the squad for Australia.The Lord’s Test has everyone salivating after West Indies’ brilliant five‑wicket triumph, which leaves the series level at 1-1. Indeed within 24 hours Test cricket around the world has been given...
It is possible to argue England could have won every short‑form game before that final thrashing had they not been undone by a series of improbable eventsTake the positives out of that then. Better to burn out than fade away and England’s cricketers certainly ended their white‑ball tour of India in a shared magnesium flare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The insistence on building towards the Champions Trophy in June has been so relentless it was tempting to ask Eoin Morgan afterwards what positives he would be taking, what lessons learnt, skill-sets executed from losing eight wickets for eight runs in 19 balls in Bengaluru – on the bare figures, England’s worst batting collapse in any kind of cricket.Except of course...