Ashes 2019: A man of few words, Trevor Bayliss has shown before he knows how to get the best out of England

Bayliss’s approach is one that this England team clearly responds to

Trevor Bayliss is a man who chooses his words carefully. And on many occasions says nothing at all.

It’s part of the reason why he’ll leave his post as England coach scarcely more well known here than he was when he stepped up and took over the job shortly before the 2015 Ashes.

It’s also one of the main reasons why there is still room for optimism as England approach the Lords Test – a ground they’ve beaten Australia at just three times since 1896.

Bayliss’s approach is one that this England team clearly responds to.

When England were struggling in the group stages of the World Cup, following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sri Lanka and Australia, Bayliss didn’t panic. And nor did the team.

Reminding his players of why they went into the World Cup as a favourites, England simply reverted to the method that had seen them demolish all-comers under his four-year reign.

A short time later, England were World Cup winners for the first time. In keeping with his approach to man-management, though, Bayliss kept such a low profile that you almost had to remind yourself that England had a coach in the first place.

“I saw Trevor on the victory lap around Lords and you could see him thinking about how he could get away without holding the trophy,” says Rod Evans, a former team-mate of Bayliss at Penrith Cricket Club back in New South Wales and a long-time friend.

“In the end he ran a few paces with it and then just placed it on the ground for one of the players to pick it up. That sums him up really. It’s never about him, it always about the team.”

Trevor Bayliss has consistently provided a platform for his players to flourish (Getty)

Such is Bayliss’s reticence to put himself at the forefront, that some have openly questioned what it is he brings to this England side.

His response has consistently been that it’s his responsibility to provide a platform for England’s players to deliver their best. Watching England spank the ball around the park in ODI cricket, there’s no doubt of the impact he has had.

In Test cricket, though, his influence is harder to pin down. Under Bayliss, England have won 25 Tests and lost 24, winning seven series (plus a one off Test against Ireland) and losing five. Against his home country, his record as coach reads played 11, won three, lost seven.

With England already on the back-foot in this series, it may get significantly worse before he vacates his role in September.

That said, Mike Whitney, a former team-mate at New South Wales, and someone who knows TB (a nickname the former Australia international handed him when the pair played Sheffield Shield cricket together) better than most, isn’t expecting his old mate to change his approach before Lords.

“He’s a man of few words, always has been, always will be,” he says. “But he won’t panic. He’ll have used the time between the first Test and the second to look at his options and come up with the best way of taking on Australia at Lords.

“He’s not suddenly going to change his approach. He’ll be speaking to Joe Root and coming up with plans that can help England get back into the series. But, no doubt, this is a massive Test match.

“If England lose here then they’ve got a mountain to climb. TB doesn’t need anyone to tell him that.”

Whitney once enjoyed a cameo appearance on Neighbours and is someone who can talk for hours on any subject. At first glance he’s the polar opposite of Bayliss – a man who Evans says will regularly return to Penrith to watch his son play Grade Cricket ‘with dark glasses and a wide-rimmed sunhat’, in order to not draw attention to himself. Whitney, though, says that Bayliss’s sense of humour is as sharp as any.

Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan converse on the pitch (Reuters) (Action Images via Reuters)

And he has needed it at times during a tumultuous time in charge of the national side.

Time to retreat back home has often been at a premium, but the link with his former club Down Under is an important one to a family man who has spent most of the past four years on the road. After winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, Bayiss flew straight into Sydney and headed to the club’s annual presentation evening.

He always maintained a sense of what is important and with Bayliss, it seems, what you see is what you get.

“We’re massively proud of everything he has achieved with England,” says Whitney. “New Zealand are our brothers on the other side of the trench so we would usually be barracking for them, particularly when they’re playing against England. But when TB won the World Cup, everyone here couldn’t have been happier for him.”

Winning the Ashes after going 1-0 down in the series now looks an even bigger ask than taking England to the pinnacle of the 50 over game.

A man of few words he may be, but a nation is hoping the ones he chooses in the Lords changing room on Wednesday morning do the trick.