Trevor Bayliss will use a four-day training camp in Spain to familiarise himself with England’s players before the Ashes series, with the uncapped Derbyshire fast bowler Mark Footitt the surprise inclusion in a 14-man party for the trip.
The head coach arrives to begin his new role on Thursday – only 13 days before the start of the first Test with his native Australia in Cardiff on 8 July – and will spend 24 hours recovering from jet lag before meeting the squad in Birmingham. England leave for Spain on the Saturday morning.
The camp, which will focus on fielding, strategy and fitness work, gives an indication of England’s thinking for the five-Test series. The 29-year-old Footitt, who took 106 wickets in all competitions last summer, is the standout inclusion while Moeen Ali has been picked ahead of his spin-bowling rival Adil Rashid.
Andrew Strauss, who organised the trip, will fly out to the unnamed location in Spain before the main group to begin preparations but, following introductory meetings between Bayliss and the players, the director of England cricket is expected to return to London and give the new set-up room to breathe.
The benefits of training in sunnier climes will be combined with an informal atmosphere and a round of golf one afternoon – a far cry from the military-style training exercises utilised by Andy Flower before the away Ashes series in 2010-11 and 2013-14.
The first of those, held in the Bavarian forest, was run by former members of the Australian police and was well received by the players, even if it saw Jimmy Anderson suffer a broken rib during a boxing match. The last Ashes camp took place in Staffordshire and was deemed as shambolic as the tour that followed. England last went abroad before a home Ashes series in 2009, when a trip to visit the war memorials in Flanders saw Andrew Flintoff miss the team bus following a night of drinking.
Bayliss comes with a reputation for being a low-key operator and is keen to get to know his players on a personal level before the battle to reclaim the Ashes from Michael Clarke’s tourists begins. He will tap into the knowledge of the assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, who has been running the side since the sacking of Peter Moores at the start of the summer. Farbrace worked with Bayliss in the Sri Lanka management set-up.
Alastair Cook is expected to meet with the pair before the Spain camp and the Test captain can provide a first-hand verdict on the talents of Footitt after facing the left-armer in Essex’s innings victory over Derbyshire at Chelmsford at the start of the week. With the Sussex fast bowler Tymal Mills having been diagnosed with a back problem that could end his first-class career, the 6ft 2in Footitt represents the closest England can come to the dual left-arm threat of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.
“It’s nice to receive this level of recognition for the hard work over the last 18 months,” said Footitt, who impressed while netting with the England team before the Lord’s Test with New Zealand at the end of May. “It’s a great opportunity for me to show the England coaching staff first-hand what I am about and I hope I can impress and stake my claim for a place in the final Ashes squad. It would be an honour to get a chance to represent my country.”
Steven Finn, deemed “unselectable” during England’s 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia 18 months ago, is included after impressing in the one-day series with New Zealand. He will be joined by fellow fast bowler Liam Plunkett, who makes the trip despite a calf strain meaning his inclusion in the squad for the first Test is unlikely.
Chris Jordan misses out because of a longer recovery period for a side strain suffered during the second one-dayer at The Oval last week, while the leg spinner Rashid has been deemed better off bowling for Yorkshire in anticipation of a possible Test call-up later in the summer.
Pre-Ashes training squad
Alastair Cook (Essex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jamesimmy Anderson (Lancashire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Mark Footitt (Derbyshire), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Mark Wood (Durham).
Ashes series
First Test: 8 July 2015 11am BST, 9pm AEDT Venue– Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Second Test: 16 July 2015 11am BST, 9pm AEDT Venue– Lord’s, London
Third Test: 29 July 2015 11am BST, 9pm AEDT Venue– Edgbaston, Birmingham
Fourth Test: 6 August 2015 11am BST, 9pm AEDT Venue– Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Fifth Test: 20 August 2015 11am BST, 9pm AEDT Venue– The Oval, London
