Richard Earle: Facing successive Ashes away whitewashes England should split Test and one-day coaching roles

WHY splitting the Test and one-day coaching roles could provide England cricket boss Andrew Strauss with an Aussie dream team.

England skipper Joe Root and Head Coach Trevor Bayliss look on during an England nets session ahead of the Third Test in Perth. . Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

AS England cricket director Andrew Strauss pours over the shell of a diabolical Ashes defence, there is a panacea on the horizon.

Jason Gillespie as Test coach and Trevor Bayliss focusing on limited-overs cricket would provide England with the best of both worlds in the 2019 Ashes and home World Cup respectively.

England expected a side at peak power this summer, structured and united when Bayliss was preferred to countryman Gillespie in May 2015.

Instead, Joe Root commands a flighty squad which is hammered on the field and in troubling headlines off it at every turn of a 3-0 Ashes scoreline.

England enters 2018 dealing with the fallout of Ashes failure. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes is sidelined as England’s booze-fuelled culture haunts a team with greats Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook in decline.

Adelaide Strikers and Sussex coach Jason Gillespie. Picture: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Strauss chose the security of former Sri Lanka boss Bayliss over the Test legend, Gillespie, who unearthed an England skipper, Root, and keeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow in dual championship titles with Yorkshire.

Singed by the failed second coming of Peter Moores, the elimination of Kevin Pietersen and desperate for home World Cup success, Strauss didn’t gamble on an unproven international coach.

Strauss has had time to consider the sliding-doors moment that offered a sweeter narrative.

Gillespie is contracted for three northern summers as Sussex head coach, but England will require a Test replacement for Bayliss before then.

Former New South Wales batsman Bayliss was a nice fit for Sri Lanka in the days of self-starting legends Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan. Bayliss shines when steering men who know their game, dreams, gifts and limitations, as opposed to those better suited to college fraternity life.

Gillespie will never present a shiny Power Point presentation for officials in an interview. The man with 259 wickets in Australia’s golden age has an intrinsic ability to connect with and steer a volatile talent like Stokes over a long-black. Stokes would be unlikely to disrespect Gillespie the way the banned vice-captain lets down England’s hierarchy.

There is something askew with England. Imagine a fringe Australian player tipping beer on the head of Glenn McGrath, as Ben Duckett drenched Jimmy Anderson in Perth. All this in the same bar where Bairstow headbutted Cameron Bancroft.

Bairstow flowered, winning County titles under Gillespie, and attributed his success to the relaxed atmosphere “Dizzy” created at Yorkshire.

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss speaks with player Dawid Malan during a nets session. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

England coach Trevor Bayliss looks on in despair. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

During interrogation over England’s 3-0 Ashes demise, Bayliss, a decent soul, conceded he didn’t have the answers to his side’s Ashes disintegration and failure of senior players.

Pressed on whether Stokes would have shored up England’s Ashes defence, Bayliss said it was “hard to say”. There was honesty but not the rallying cry or explanation fans crave.

Respected Bayliss was appointed over Gillespie, primarily for his impressive limited-overs record making World Cup finals with Sri Lanka, backed by Twenty20 titles guiding Kolkata and Sydney Sixers.

England is obsessed with success as host of the 2019 World Cup, having exited at the group stage of the 2015 edition. The Old Enemy had better win the 2019 one-day showpiece — for all its fading cachet — given the absence of a clear Test blueprint.

England is asleep at the wheel in Test cricket and in need of renewal. An away series win against South Africa has been the only Test highlight since England won the 2015 Ashes at home during Bayliss’ first series in charge.

Gillespie remains interested in international coaching. A specialist Test gig could offer the family time he prioritised when originally interested in the England coaching role. A Gillespie-Bayliss dream team would allow Strauss to have his cake and eat it.

Originally published as Richard Earle: Facing successive Ashes away whitewashes England should split Test and one-day coaching roles