Former English head coach Trevor Bayliss orchestrated a massive change in the Three Lions’ setup, throwing more emphasis on the limited overs format since he took over shortly after their dismal performance in the 2015 ICC World Cup. Since then, England managed to scale new heights in the shorter formats, even winning the 2019 World Cup.
Bayliss quit his role immediately after the 2019 World Cup, and since this, Chris Silverwood has been in charge. With the team having achieved their targets comprehensively in white-ball cricket, England fans are now beginning to realize that they might’ve done it at some cost, having lost a world record-equalling nine Tests in a single year.
Having lost to India and trailing to the same side in home conditions, England are currently 3-0 behind in the Ashes and went down in all the games quite horrendously. In these difficult circumstances, Bayliss reckons that the team must take responsibility collectively rather than throw one or two individuals under the bus.
“I would like to see England rally around them now because things are not going to improve overnight.
It is the system above those in the firing line that needs to be looked at and it will take time to put processes in place to change things. It’s a collective rather than blaming one or two people.
The Australian system is clearly preparing players for Test cricket and England is not. And that leaves the ECB with hard questions to answer,”
the 59-year-old said.
England’s horrible run Down Under stretches over a decade now, having not won a single Test since the 2009/10 Ashes, which they won 3-1. They also had an embarrassing 5-0 defeat in 2013/14, which was only the 3rd occasion when a side got whitewashed in the Ashes. There is a tremendous underlying fear that this could be the fourth occasion of such a dreadful defeat.
The forth Test between England and Australia will kick-start on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where the hosts will be aiming to steer further clear whilst the visiting side will be desperate to restore some parity.
