England confirm Bayliss as coach

The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed Australian Trevor Bayliss as the new England head coach.

Bayliss will take over the England reins ahead of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff on July 8.

"Trevor has an outstanding record as coach, has global experience and is very highly regarded in the game," ECB Director of Cricket Andrew Strauss said of Bayliss's appointment. 

"He has proved himself in both domestic and international cricket, has a strong reputation for man-management and has shown how to build winning teams in all three formats.

"His expertise in the shorter forms of the game will be vital as we build towards three major ICC events over the next four years; the ICC World T20 tournament in India in 2016 and the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup which will be staged in England and Wales in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

"Trevor will also work well with Paul Farbrace, an exceptional coach who will continue as Assistant Coach after helping us to an outstanding victory over New Zealand in the 1st Investec Test of the summer. 

"This has been a very competitive recruitment process and we're grateful to all of the candidates who showed their interest in this role. I'm excited to have him on board."

Bayliss says he's excited to lead a talented group of players with a bright future: “It’s an honour to be appointed England Coach. There’s a great opportunity to help Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan shape the direction and development of their respective teams.  

"I am also looking forward to working  alongside Paul Farbrace once again as we have a similar outlook on the game, get on well after two years working together and have kept in touch.

“What particularly excites me about the role is the chance to work with a very talented group of players. I firmly believe that the team has a bright future and I’ll be doing everything I can to help them realise their potential and achieve success on a consistent basis.” 

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Bayliss has a glittering coaching resume, leading Sri Lanka to No.2 in the Test rankings, the 2009 World T20 final and the 2011 World Cup final, and Australia to a T20 international series win over South Africa last November.

Domestically, the 52-year-old has guided NSW to two Bupa Sheffield Shield titles, the Sydney Sixers to the inaugural KFC T20 Big Bash League crown and the 2012 Champions League T20 title, as well as twice steering Kolkata Knight Riders to Indian Premier League glory.

Champion fast bowler Brett Lee, who played under Bayliss at the Sixers and Knight Riders, believes England are “very, very lucky” to have landed his relaxed former mentor.

“Trevor Bayliss is old school,” Lee told cricket.com.au. “He’s such a calming influence over the team and I personally believe his record speaks for itself.

“Whatever he’s touched has turned to gold.

“Whether it be NSW, whether it’s the Sydney Sixers, whether it’s KKR, every team he’s been to has been successful and I believe it’s his calming influence over the players that allows them to play their natural role and to be confident to play their natural role without any pressure coming from the top.”

Bayliss joined Lee at Kolkata as head coach in 2012 with immediate results, taking the glamour franchise to its first IPL title in the competition’s then five-year history, and adding a second trophy in 2014.

Lee remembers Bayliss unifying a playing group splintered by geographical and cultural differences in the world’s most lucrative and volatile T20 tournament.

“We had players from all over the world playing the game of cricket in one team environment with language barriers and this and that, and for the first couple of games you’d see the Aussies would sit with the Aussies and the Indians would do their thing,” Lee said.

“It wasn’t as though no-one was getting on,  it was the cultural differences.

“He (Bayliss) found a way to engage every player to make them feel as if they were the most special person in the team.

“We probably didn’t have the best team on paper but we had a very close-knit team and he made it fun, and he gets on very well with overseas players and they respect him as a coach because he’s honest.

“He’s the guy that will pull you into line. There’s no favourites. There’s no tall poppy syndrome. He doesn’t bow down to anyone which is what I like.

“So if you’ve got a very strong personality they’ve got to play by the by the rules.

“No-one is bigger than the game and he believes that. Because of the way he goes about his business, everyone appreciates that and he gets the best out of every player.”

Lee, who played under a host of coaches and with many teams throughout a decorated career at domestic and international level, believes Bayliss’ ideas around fielding can also serve to unite a squad.

“He’s always believed that if a team is fielding well they’re a good cricket team,” he said.

“He’s got a way of getting all the team to do a fielding drill that brings the team closer, makes the team gel a lot better than it probably would, which would definitely help England through this whole Kevin Pietersen thing.

“That would really help them to get bonding sessions back, (and start) feeling confident in each other’s ability.

“And when he talks – in circumstances when you’re under the pump and there’s pressure – most coaches would go down a different road but he’s so relaxed … and all of a sudden from the top you’ve got the coach backing the players and it’s all happening in a  controlled, relaxed environment.”