Trevor Bayliss Has His Eyes Open On The County Season, Wants Root To Bat At four
Sep 11, 2017 at 5:19 PM
England completed a convincing nine wicket win over a fighting West Indian team in the third Test played at Lord’s to clinch the Test series 2-1. The English summer has been quite successful for the England but it has still left some questions unanswered, and there are particular areas of concerns for the English team. The next assignment for England is the Ashes down under, starting 23rd November.
England’s head coach Trevor Bayliss has suggested that he is keeping his eyes open for some spots in the current squad. One of the major areas of concern for this English team is their batting line up. England is still in search for an opening partner for Alastair Cook, although Mark Stoneman played his part in the series win against West Indies, there is still some room for improvement. Similarly, Tom Westley and Dawid Malan did well in the series, and Bayliss hinted that these three remain favorites to retain their place in the team, although the likes of Alex Hales, Keaton Jennings, Haseeb Hameed and Gary Balance should not lose hope for a comeback.
Bayliss said:
“That’s the big question, whether the three guys we have been speaking about all summer have done enough. They have shown they are good enough. But are they good enough for long enough? Are they tough enough, especially for an Ashes series? We will be discussing other players we have had in the team over the last 12-18 months. They will get a hearing, but it will be hard to go past these three guys. There are another two or three county matches to play, and that will be a factor too.”
Stoneman and Westley will join their respective county and play the remainder of the season. However, James Anderson, Cook, and Stuart Broad will miss the county season as they are in rest. However, Broad will go through some scans on the heel injury which he suffered during the third Test against West Indies. Bayliss also added that he wants Joe Root to bat at number three instead of number four.
He said:
“I would always have him at three. Joe is comfortable batting at four … [but] I think he will end up at three at some stage in the future. He is by far our best player, and personally, I believe that is where your best player should be.”