As the dust settled on England’s reawakening in one-day cricket, one which saw them beat the World Cup finalists New Zealand 3-2 through aggressive and intrepid play, thoughts inevitably turned to the Ashes series. For Paul Farbrace, the interim head coach until the arrival of Trevor Bayliss on Thursday, the optimism that engulfs the team at present should ease the Australian into the setup nicely.
While there is a one-off Twenty20 international with Brendon McCullum’s tourists still to be negotiated at Old Trafford on Tuesday – a final game in charge for Farbrace before returning to his role of assistant and one which again sees Jonny Bairstow replace the injured Jos Buttler behind the stumps – those in the Test fold will no doubt already be considering the challenge of Australia, who arrived in the country last week.
The fast bowler Mark Wood, an exciting addition to the England team whose wickets column does not yet reflect his impact, admitted as much in the build-up to Saturday’s thrilling 50-over decider at Chester-le-Street.
Before the five-Test series with Michael Clarke’s side comes a four-day training camp at an unspecified location in Spain this weekend, where Bayliss will meet his new players as they prepare for the first Test, in Cardiff from 8 July. No cricket equipment, except balls and some training gear, will be taken, with the emphasis being on fielding prowess – the 52-year-old is a stickler for that – as well as strategy and team bonding. The only swing England’s 14-strong group will practise will come on the golf course.
“The key thing is for Trevor to spend time with the players rather than just turn up in Cardiff on the Saturday ahead of the Ashes and shake a few hands,” said Farbrace, who spent two years alongside Bayliss on the Sri Lanka coaching staff. “It will be four days for him to get his messages over to the lads and for the lads to feel comfortable around him. Trevor is someone who will fit into what we’re doing as opposed to coming in and rewriting everything from start to finish – he’s not that sort of a person.
“The key will be that the lads have got together, very focused on what they want to achieve and very clear on the way Trevor wants to work. It’ll do them the world of good, and we’re just getting away, no distractions, and a chance to make sure we’re very clear going into the Tests. Trevor will fit into what’s going on and gradually make changes as he sees fit. With his knowledge and experience he will make good changes at the right times. Let’s make no mistake, the Australia series will be an extremely tough one but Trevor is coming in at a good time – there is a feelgood factor.”
While Farbrace is a tough man from which to draw self-praise, there is little doubt his influence has played a part in England’s upturn in performance and it is easy to see why his services were retained when Peter Moores, the man under whom he worked for 12 months, was dispensed with at the start of May. Players consistently reference the 47-year-old when discussing their exploits on the field; he seems central to the feelgood factor he references.
Pushed for his own input into the vast improvement with the white ball since England’s immolation at the World Cup, the self-effacing Farbrace once again acknowledged his incoming ally. “The message we tried to get across – and it’s something Trevor was very keen on before we started – was encouraging the players to play the way they do for their counties. His term was that ‘It takes balls to do that and it’s up to them to show they’ve got the balls to do it’. Crikey, they’ve certainly shown that in abundance this series.”
Farbrace believes the decision to omit Ian Bell, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson from the 50-over team has allowed the likes of Steven Finn and David Willey to flourish – and gives Bayliss and the selectors options. “The key was that we had an opportunity to get some players ready for the Ashes, and it gave others the opportunity to come into this one-day series,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot about those who have come in and we have a wider pool of players who are playing international cricket and are being successful.
“I would like to think that the guys who are going from this series are saying ‘I want more of that’ and go back to their counties and work exceptionally hard to be banging on the door. Every county cricketer’s aim should be to play international cricket. They should all be banging on the door and wanting to play international cricket, one-day or Tests. And it’s a fantastic position for Trevor and the selectors to be in.”
Now, once Tuesday’s 20-over thrash is out of the way, comes the switch to red-ball cricket under a new coach and against an Australia side who have arrived with chests puffed out. If your glass is half-empty, England have won one of their past five series in Test cricket; if it is half-full, they have won five of their past eight Tests. There are no prizes for guessing which way Farbrace sees it.
