Coaching job needs to be split into two, says chairman

Colin Graves has given a further indication that England’s coaching job will be split between Test and one-day specialists after Trevor Bayliss leaves his job next year.

Graves was in Australia for the entire Ashes tour, which the hosts won 4-0, and saw at first hand the unrelenting nature of long overseas trips for the players and coaching staff.

Bayliss is due to stand down after the Ashes series at home next summer. Andrew Strauss, the director of cricket, will be in charge of recruiting Bayliss’s successor and will have the final decision.

As chairman of the board, Graves will be an important voice in the process and he was consulted by Strauss for advice before appointing Ed Smith as lead selector last month. “I think it is asking a lot to be honest. Having been away for the winter for a long time, I think it is asking a lot from one man,” Graves said about splitting the coaching roles. “It is down to Strauss and what he wants on the cricket side but I personally think it would be better to split it into two.

“One to concentrate on red ball, one to concentrate on white.

“The formats are so different and the series are all back-to-back now. You go straight from a Test series into a one-day series. There is no break from it. How do you get your head around that? I just think the guys need a break.”

Despite the pressures, no other international teams have split their coaching roles for long. Justin Langer was appointed new head coach of the Australian team in charge of Test and one-day cricket, although he may pass on the Twenty20 side to other coaches.

Graves gave Bayliss his backing after the Ashes defeat but agrees that progress in Test cricket has been slower than expected.

“If you look at where we were three years ago, we lost the Ashes 5-0 in Australia, and we were knocked out of the World Cup by Bangladesh.

“Three years on we are No1 in white ball for men’s cricket, the women are world champions.

“Our Test team has not moved on as fast as we would have hoped but it is a youngish team still evolving. I am very optimistic about where we are in Test cricket.

“We have to learn to play better away from home but cricket is in a great place from where we were three years ago.”