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Bayliss preaches positivity as England skid out of control
- Updated: December 2, 2016
For most people, a car accident on a treacherous stretch of road would teach them to slow down.
But not Mumbai taxi drivers, it seems, nor Trevor Bayliss.
For Bayliss has reacted to England’s defeat in the third Test by suggesting England’s batsmen should be more positive. The fault, he believes, is that they were too defensive in Mohali.
It didn’t seem Moeen Ali was too defensive when he was caught at deep backward square in the first innings, or mid-on in the second. And it didn’t seem Jos Buttler was too defensive when he was caught at extra cover in the first innings and deep midwicket in the second. The same might be said about Ben Stokes’ first-innings dismissal, when he charged down the pitch and was stumped, or Joe Root’s, when he missed an attempted pull against the first ball of spin he faced.
But Bayliss is convinced that the secret of England’s success is to be found in them playing more positive – and, specifically, less defensive – cricket.
“I thought we gifted them a number of our wickets,” Bayliss said, as he reflected on the Test. “We’ve got to make them work a little harder.
“When we have been a little bit more defensive, we look like wickets waiting to happen. As soon as we’re a little bit more positive, rotating the strike and hitting a boundary when the opportunity comes, it puts pressure on the opposition.
“Yes, it might get you out once or twice. But with the batting order we’ve got, there’s going to be a number of guys that do score runs, and that puts some pressure on the opposition.”
We all know what Bayliss means, of course. He means that bowlers can be hit off a length or close fielders pushed back. He means that, if batsmen can make the bowlers’ lives uncomfortable, they are unable to go on the attack and batting becomes more straightforward.
It might be relevant, though, that the greatest run-scorer in England’s Test history is the most defensive player in the side. And it might be relevant that, while England have tried several …
