Trevor Bayliss says England’s squad for the Champions Trophy is still undecided and that there are opportunities for players not involved in India to push their case.
CLEngland’s coach watched on as his side held their nerve to claim a consolation victory in Kolkata on Sunday.
Despite going for 10 off the first two balls of the final over, Chris Woakes recovered to deliver four dot balls, including the key wicket of Kedar Jadhav, to guide England to a five-run win.
It meant the series finished 2-1 after India had won two high-scoring encounters in Pune and Cuttack.
The overall result was disappointing,” said Bayliss as he reflected on the run-laden three matches. “But I think we are heading in the right direction. I think we are pretty close to the best available batters for the Champions Trophy.
“I thought we played some pretty good cricket, especially from a batting point of view.
“There are two or three guys on the outside looking to get back in. The guys in the team, there’s no reason why they can’t be our guys in the Champions Trophy. We will be looking to take our best team and if some guys are in form or out of form we will wait as long as possible to make that decision.”
Although England shipped 356, 381 and 316 in the three matches Bayliss remains confident his bowlers can be relied upon to deliver.
Today’s 50-over matches are at times an extension of T20 – powerful batsmen with huge bats hitting good deliveries out of the park.
A pragmatic Bayliss accepts that scores of 350 are the norm but has implored his charges not to dish up too many free hits.
“The bowling was a little disappointing in these three games,” he said. “The guys would be the first to admit that.”
“We’ve seen them bowl well in the past so there’s no reason why they can’t bowl well going forward.
A pragmatic Bayliss accepts that scores of 350 are the norm but has implored his charges not to dish up too many free hits.
“The bowling was a little disappointing in these three games,” he said. “The guys would be the first to admit that.”
“We’ve seen them bowl well in the past so there’s no reason why they can’t bowl well going forward.
We didn’t bowl enough balls in the right area, especially last night on a helpful wicket.
“If we did drop the ball in the right areas a little more often then it would not have been so close.
“That’s what happens when a good side puts you under pressure.
“We constantly talk from a bowling point of view about easy boundaries – long hops and half volleys. Make them play and hit shots to a good ball. That’s an area we can do better at.”
England will play in Cardiff at least twice during 2017 with their first encounter opening the ICC Champions Trophy fixtures in the Welsh capital on 6 June against New Zealand before returning after the tournament to face South Africa in the third NatWest International T20 on June 25. Tickets to see ICC Champions Trophy fixtures in Cardiff are still available from www.icc-cricket.com/tickets
CLICK HERE to secure your tickets for the England v South Africa game, with admission priced from £35 for adults, £10 for under 17s