England head coach Trevor Bayliss has revealed he will be leaving the role when his current deal expires after the 2019 Ashes series.
A day after England surrendered the urn to Australia following a 4-0 defeat, Bayliss explained the energy-sapping tour had no bearing on his decision.
“I told Andrew Strauss probably 12 months ago that September 2019 is when I’m contracted to and that would see me out,” said Bayliss, who took the job on in 2015.
“I’ve never been anywhere any more than four or five years. Whether you’re going well or not I’ve always felt that round about that four-year mark is time to change. A new voice, a slightly different approach slightly reinvigorates things, so I passed that on to him 12 months ago.”
Bayliss’ assistant Paul Farbrace confirmed in the aftermath of the result that preparations for the next Ashes tour Down Under in 2021 will begin in the ‘next couple of days’, albeit without Bayliss there as coach to implement his plans. Something which doesn’t faze the Australian due to his belief in captain Joe Root.
“I’ve got no problem working towards a long-term goal even if I’m not going to be there,” said Bayliss.
“You leave a coaching position hopefully with the team in a better place than when you started. Joe Root as the captain will still be there and there’s a base of six or seven players that will still be young and good enough to be in the team.
“The captain is in charge, but we’re there to help out. Joe is a young captain and I would expect in four years when he comes back, with another four years’ experience and an away Ashes under his belt, he’ll feel a lot more comfortable.”
The 55-year-old Australian has faced questions over his role with the Test side following a dreary overseas record which reads: played 19, won 3, drawn 4 lost 12.
Bayliss was brought in by the ECB with their eyes firmly set on improving the country’s white ball prospects ahead of hosting the Cricket World Cup in 2019.
