India vs England | Won’t doubt Alastair Cook’s form as he is striking the ball well, says Trevor Bayliss

08/25/2018

England cricket team’s head coach Trevor Bayliss has backed opening batsman Alastair Cook despite his below-par performances at the international level in the past one year. Bayliss has stated that he won’t doubt Cook’s form as the 33-year-old has been hitting the ball quite nicely in the middle.

The hosts collapsed for 161 runs on day two of the third Test against India at Trent Bridge. They never recovered as India won by 203 runs to pull one back in the five-match series. Reportedly, the coach and captain Joe Root led a charged-up dressing room debate following that batting collapse. On the other hand, England would definitely be worried about the form of their opening batsmen, Cook and Keaton Jennings, who haven’t performed well individually for the past one year.

However, Bayliss backed the duo to do the job in the remaining two Tests against India. He did not doubt Cook’s form and said the 33-year-old has been striking the ball quite nicely. Speaking about Jennings, Bayliss stated the opening batsman has the talent to perform well and just needs some minor adjustments.

“One should watch Cook play in the nets. He is actually striking the ball quite nicely and his feet move well. I wouldn’t say he is out of form, he is just out of runs in the middle. Whereas Jennings, who was with the (England) Lions last year in Australia, is very talented. He just needs some minor adjustments as far as his technique is concerned. He is an upright player so he is probably never going to be one of those guys who gets well down over the front knee and sniffs the ball. He is working on his back lift to get a little more rhythm and flow,” Bayliss said.

Speaking about the team’s poor batting display in the past few years, Bayliss backed the batsmen by stating them as attacking players. He felt they needed some more time to adjust and get used to Test cricket. However, he praised Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes for their partnership in the final innings at Trent Bridge and felt the team would have learned a lot from it.

“These guys that we have in the team, play in a certain way. They are attacking-style players. When you’ve been playing in a certain way for a number of years, it’s not the easiest thing to change in the heat of battle. I don’t know if it’s good enough, but it is a fact. We know they have got to play the situation and the conditions like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes did in the second innings. They are all aware of what they need to do and it will just take some time,” he added.

On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow, who sustained a finger injury during the third Test, would also be a matter of concern. Bayliss further revealed that Bairstow might not be able to keep the wickets and would be selected just on the basis of batting.

“Firstly, I think keeping in the next game for Bairstow will probably be the most difficult. We’ve got to check with the medical guys in the next few days. They are suggesting he may not be able to keep but might be able to bat,” Bayliss said.