Trevor Bayliss' hands-off approach is crippling England's hopes of progress

Bayliss’ obsession with freedom of expression is rapidly turning England into one of the most unpredictable and maddening teams in the world

England have stagnated under Trevor Bayliss in recent years (Getty)

When Trevor Bayliss arrived two summers ago his folksy charm and laid-back attitude to coaching were seen as attributes. Now, though, as England’s Test team does their best impression of a 1990s tribute act the Australian’s hand-off approach appears to be a glaring weakness.

Sport is a results business and if the measure of Bayliss’ success, and ultimately his job security, is England’s record in Test matches then he is doing badly on both.

A record of eight defeats in 13 in any sport is not acceptable. It might be seen as a sign that the coach has lost the dressing-room. However, with Bayliss the question is has he ever fully engaged with it?

Winning the Ashes in his first summer in charge brought Bayliss instant plaudits and goodwill. His relaxed attitude and public pronouncements that he wanted England to play with freedom and aggression were welcomed by a group of players who had been worn down by the micro-management of the Peter Moores era and the dictatorial regime of Andy Flower.

In limited-overs cricket this approach has had success. In Tests, though, Bayliss’ obsession with aggression and freedom of expression is rapidly turning England into one of the most unpredictable and maddening teams in the world.

Alastair Cook admitted his side had “stagnated” when he gave up the captaincy earlier this year. That is true given England have only managed to win one series – at home against Sri Lanka – since their victory in South Africa 18 months ago.

Things had started well under Joe Root’s new captaincy at Lord’s, when in his first game in charge South Africa were beaten by 211 runs.

Bayliss' approach has fallen under scrutiny (Getty Images)

A week later, though, and England’s alarming tendency to implode reared its head again at Trent Bridge.

The nature of the defeat, by 340 runs and in three-and-a-half days, was so miserable that this must now be seen as a watershed moment for Bayliss.

This is a man who earns upwards of £500,000 a year. It’s about time he started working a bit harder for that money.

It is not being churlish to ask exactly what Bayliss does.

We know what he doesn’t do because he is not shy in admitting he often defers to the greater knowledge of England’s other selectors precisely because he hardly watches any first-class county cricket.

Bayliss often defers to England's other selectors (Getty)

Geographical difficulties, Bayliss’ family still live in Australia, and a packed schedule makes that difficult. But it is still astonishing to hear a coach of a major national team admit he has approved the selection of players he has never actually seen with his own eyes.

Mark Stoneman looks set to make his debut in next week’s third Test against South Africa but, after the defeat at Trent Bridge, Bayliss said: “I haven’t seen Stoneman bat live.

“It’s happened before, if we select a guy and I haven’t seen him, you’ve always in the back of your mind got a little bit of, ‘well, is he or isn’t he?’ You’ve just got trust the other selectors and some of the senior players we might speak to about who is the next guy in line or what type of a player he is.”

Can you imagine a football manager signing a striker he has never seen live based on scouting reports or anecdotal evidence from his own players?

Joe Root has been handed much responsibility regarding decision-making (Getty)

Bayliss also ensures as much of the decision-making and leadership of the side is deferred to the captain. This is why Root has been allowed to drop down the order to No4 against the best interests of the team.

The coach needs to have a word with Root before the Oval Test and convince him to move back up to No3 because without him in that position England’s top order is fragile.

There is also the issue of the team’s collective mindset – one that prioritises reckless aggression above all else.

To hear Bayliss speak after Trent Bridge opened a window into a dressing-room that appears to be run by the players alone.

“It’s only them that will be able to say as a group or as individuals, does their mindset change?” said Bayliss.

After England’s one-day defeat against South Africa at Lord’s in late May, a match where they had been reduced to 20 for six, Bayliss actually said his team were “not aggressive enough”.

Bayliss has propogated a mindset that prioritises reckless aggression (Getty)

He was at it again after Trent Bridge, saying of England’s first innings, when they were dismissed for 205: “If you look at the top seven, we had five blokes out blocking.”

Bayliss at least appears open to the idea of dropping Liam Dawson, the left-arm spinner he brought in to make Moeen Ali feel better.

“His spot is probably the spot in the team that can be picked on conditions and what sort of balance we want for the team,” he said.

But don’t get your hopes up of either Keaton Jennings or Gary Ballance being dropped for The Oval.

“I think if we got rid of them right now it wouldn’t be consistent to what we’ve been about over the last couple of years,” said Bayliss.

And therein lies the problem. If England need anything it is to break away from what has not worked over the past couple of years. It’s a change that must come from the top down – starting with Bayliss.