Australia 'more robust' and can handle pressure better - Bayliss

World Cup-winning coach laments Ashes damp squib but does not think England require drastic changes

- Ali Martin

Trevor Bayliss will be among those watching the fifth Ashes Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground this Sunday. But even as the head coach responsible for delivering the World Cup in 2019, the majority of England fans who walk past him will probably do so without so much as a double take.

This was very much the Australian’s way when sporting the Three Lions on his training kit for five years - low key and forever dodging the spotlight under that wide-brimmed hat. Even crediting Bayliss for that World Cup - or the Ashes win in 2015 - cuts against his mantra that players alone deserve the glory. Coaches, he always stressed, are simply there to facilitate.

On a grey New Year’s Day in Sydney, the harbour city sleeping off its firework extravaganza the night before, Bayliss could be found doing just that. The Big Bash League is in full swing and after a net session with his Sydney Thunder players at the Olympic Park, the 63-year-old sat down over a coffee to discuss an Ashes series that is slightly limping to its conclusion.

“I won't lie, mate. It has been a bit of a disappointment,’ he says, regarding Australia’s 3-1 lead with one to play. “I did an event over Zoom with some Sussex supporters before it started, organised by Paul Farbrace [his former assistant coach with England], and I actually tipped 3-2 to Australia.

“That is still possible, I suppose. But I genuinely thought it would be more competitive; that it would go deeper and maybe even get to a decider here in Sydney. You get one-eyed Aussies who just want to smash England but the proper cricket lovers here were hoping for a classic.”