England’s head coach Trevor Bayliss is furious with the England cricketers after the revelation that Johnny Bairstow head-butted Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar and raised a possibility of alcohol ban being imposed on the squad. Bayliss accused his players of being ‘dumb’, three days after the incidence was revealed to UK media and talked about the responsibilities that the players had on this tour after the Ben Stokes saga.
“There is an agreement among them that they will be doing the right thing and looking after themselves. It’s a long tour; you can’t be cooped up in a hotel room for four months. It’s a case of being sensible and professional,” Bayliss was heard saying.
Notably, former England cricketer and currently the Director of Cricket Andrew Strauss briefed the players about the rules, one day before they left the UK. The incident took place on the first night, hours after the squad landed in Perth.
Talking about Stokes incident, the 54-year-old Bayliss stated:
“Whatever rules and regs you have there’s a bit of a wake-up call. We would have preferred it not to be such a big wake up call.”
Bayliss, while talking to the media after the 10-wicket defeat in the first Test said:
“We can’t put ourselves in these situations however small they are. They have only got themselves to blame. Any team will take any opportunity to get stuck in the opposition, make them feel uncomfortable wherever possible. If you put yourself in that situation you are fair game, we have to be careful we don’t do that in future.”
However, Bairstow has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after a short investigation on Sunday night. The ECB was ready to give the players a chance to take their responsibility for off-field behaviour after the Stokes incident. But now Strauss, who is here in Brisbane, will review the policies on player’s behaviour, nights out and alcohol with team management over the coming days.
Talking about whether the behaviour of the cricketers will change now, Bayliss said:
“That was what I thought after Bristol as well. They’d be extra dumb and stupid if it didn’t.”
The second Ashes Test is scheduled to start from December at the Adelaide Oval which will be a pink ball. England will be keen come out of all the controversies and put up a good show to level back the series.