Paul Farbrace has confirmed his interest in becoming England’s next full-time head coach and made a positive first move as the interim for the Twenty20 against Australia on Wednesday night by promoting Jos Buttler to open.
Farbrace takes over for this one-off fixture at a sold-out Edgbaston, and the three that follow against India next week, while Trevor Bayliss spends a fortnight scouting county players and taking a break from the packed schedule.
With the Australian standing down at the end of next year, however, his long-time assistant with England – and previously Sri Lanka – is keen to step up even if he insists this latest spell as a caretaker, having done the same before the arrival of Bayliss in 2015 and on a tour to the Caribbean last year, is not a pitch for the top spot.
Asked if he fancied the role, Farbrace replied: “Of course. If, next September, Andrew Strauss said, ‘we want to offer you the job as coach’, or, as has been discussed, splitting it and me looking after one of the teams, it would be so difficult to say no. I’d be thrilled.
“But I don’t think the next 10 days are necessarily about me at all really. Eoin Morgan is captain. He’s the focal point of our team, and whoever is here looking after the side it’s our job to make sure we support and guide him.”
England’s recent use of 20-over internationals to rest multi-format mainstays and test fringe players has led to a dip in the rankings, such that it is a case of No 5 hosting No 2 in this tour-ending fixture for an Australia side whitewashed in the one‑dayers but welcoming fresh blood in the batsman Nic Maddinson and the leg‑spinner Mitchell Swepson.
For England this is a full-strength squad again – bar the continued absence of Ben Stokes, who is nearly ready to return from a hamstring injury – with Buttler, fresh from a stunning century at Old Trafford on Sunday, opening alongside Jason Roy. The reason? To get their hottest talent facing as many of the 120 balls sent down as possible.
On Buttler, who made a man-of-the-match 73 not out against Sri Lanka two years ago in his only previous appearance as opener, Farbrace said: “You need to get these players in and let them do as much damage as possible. The great thing with him is that he is a not a slogger. He is a proper stroke-player with strong shots.”
Buttler’s role, which owes much to the five successive half-centuries he made there for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League this year, means the Jason Roy/Jonny Bairstow axis that dominated Australia in the ODIs is broken up, with the latter expected to drop to a flexible middle‑order slot.
Alex Hales has opened for all 52 of his Twenty20 internationals, has three of England’s four highest scores in the format and is their sole centurion to date. He will likely move to No 3, with Joe Root, one of those to regularly miss out under the rest policy, coming in before Morgan and Bairstow.
The Test captain is desperate to prove his case in the shortened format, of course, having previously expressed a fear he may fall behind. But Farbrace is confident Root’s classic style can still adapt, as was shown when his 43-ball 83 helped chase down 230 against South Africa in the 2016 World T20.
“That was as good as any T20 innings we have seen in the last few years,” Farbrace said. “You don’t have to keep hitting sixes. You can hit fours as well and Rooty has shown he is quite capable. He has got he deft touches and flicks too. He is so adaptable.”
Australia, who won a T20 tri-series against England and New Zealand during the winter, are under new captaincy. Tim Paine has left the tour and after 36 runs in five innings, is likely to have been a 50-over stop-gap. Aaron Finch, who leads here, would fancy that role but has respectfully played down his prospects.
“If the opportunity came up it would be an honour,” he said. “But Tim is the captain right now and did a great job throughout the one-day series. It was disappointing we didn’t back up his leadership. We let ourselves slip.
“The confidence was definitely affected, England put us on the back foot from the word go and we weren’t able to catch up. As a T20 team not a lot needs to be said, we have new faces to bring fresh energy – guys that have no baggage – and it’s a great opportunity to get out there and strut our stuff in a format we have had success in.
