England coach Trevor Bayliss issues 2019 Cricket World Cup warning
Bayliss angered by England’s fielding and attitude during record loss to Sri Lanka
Trevor Bayliss says England’s fringe players must “turn it around pretty quick” if they are hoping to contend for a place in next year’s Cricket World Cup squad.
England suffered a crushing defeat against Sri Lanka in the fifth one-day international (ODI) on Tuesday - their record loss in the 50-over format.
With the ODI series victory already secured England gave a chance to some of their fringe players against Sri Lanka. But the manner in which they were beaten has angered head coach Bayliss.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “It’s one thing giving guys an opportunity, but those guys have to take hold of that opportunity.
“Those opportunities could determine who makes a World Cup squad and who doesn’t. It’s a tough school, international cricket.
“There are not too many more opportunities before the World Cup squad is picked, so some of the guys will have to turn it around pretty quick.”
‘Fielding is an attitude’
Tuesday’s thrashing in Colombo came with England being currently top of the ICC ODI team rankings. Bayliss says that the fielding standards and attitude of the players was not good enough for a team ranked No.1 in the world.
“We’ve got some hard work to do going forward,” Bayliss told the BBC. “Our performance in the field, our attitude in the field, was nowhere near up-to-scratch for a number one team.
“Fielding is an attitude - you want the ball to come to you, do the simple things right, anticipating and not waiting for it to go past an inner-ring fielder.
“Fielding can give you confidence for the rest of your game. It’s the one thing that we all do together, but we weren’t on our game and that showed and passed over into our bowling and batting performance.”
England and Wales host the 2019 Cricket World Cup in May and June next year. England next travel to the West Indies in January and only have 11 more ODI matches scheduled before the World Cup.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Drunken hooligans': America's cricket fears
Why Everyone's Talking About South Asian community 'energised' by sport's growing popularity in US but some locals oppose new stadiums
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Ashes: can England mount a glorious comeback?
feature ‘Herculean’ task follows ugly scenes at controversial second test
By The Week Staff Published
-
English cricket is ‘racist, sexist and elitist’, says independent report
Speed Read Chair of governing body apologises after crushing indictment of the sport ‘at all levels’
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
England are the ‘undisputed kings’ of white-ball cricket
feature Ben Stokes scored the winning run as England beat Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final
By Mike Starling Published
-
Ben Stokes and England set up a ‘grand finale’ against South Africa
feature In an old-school Test victory at Old Trafford, England’s captain scored a century and took four crucial wickets
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Alarm bells’ for authorities: is there too much cricket being played?
Talking Point Ben Stokes quitting one-day internationals has sparked a debate over the packed schedule
By Mike Starling Published
-
‘Bazball’: England cricket’s glorious new look
Why Everyone’s Talking About A staggering turnaround has taken place under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes
By The Week Staff Published
-
England’s epic win: Test cricket that was ‘quite simply, out of this world’
Why Everyone’s Talking About Victory over New Zealand was one of the most ‘glorious and scintillating’ in England’s history
By The Week Staff Published