Bayliss takes right perspective

01 July 2015 03:32

Having witnessed tragedy and terrorism during his coaching career, new England boss Trevor Bayliss is uniquely placed to put the Ashes in the right perspective.

Bayliss was in charge of Sri Lanka in 2009 when their team bus was attacked by gunmen in Lahore, an incident that left six players injured, and fatalities to local police and civilians.

And he was also present as New South Wales coach last November when Australia and South Australia batsman Phillip Hughes was hit on the head by a bouncer, suffering injuries that ultimately led to his death.

With such experiences in his recent past, Bayliss is able to view his first series in charge of England in the appropriate context.

Several Sri Lankan stars were hit during the terror ambush six years ago, while Bayliss later discovered bullet holes in the window where his head had been resting moments earlier.

Asked for his memories of the terror attack in Pakistan, when England number two Paul Farbrace was again with him as assistant coach, Bayliss is surprisingly phlegmatic.

"I certainly remember when the bombs and the bullets were flying around, I thought 'oh well. I can't believe we're actually being shot at', but there was nothing I could do except keep your head down and your arse up," he said.

"I got down between the seats and I did feel some shards of glass come down through my hair. I looked up and could see three bullet holes in the window.

"You just deal with it as best you can and get on with it. My philosophy is that if you worry about it too much it will follow you around. The way I've dealt with it has been from that point of view.

"From the terrorism point of view it is said all the time, but you can't allow that kind of thing to determine the rest of your life.

"To everyone's credit in the bus there was no shouting and what not. I suppose you don't know how people are going to react until they are put into that situation, but everything was very calm."

Hughes' sad demise, having been struck with a freak blow by New South Wales paceman Sean Abbott, is more recent and, possibly, more raw.

He was not the victim of terror, but of the game he loved.

Bayliss believes Hughes' memory will cast a long shadow over the sport but does not equate that with a softly-softly approach on the field.

"It was very difficult for the two teams playing. Phil had played at New South Wales cricket and had started with a lot of the players who were out on the field with him that day," he said.

"He'd been at South Australia for about three seasons so knew the players on both sides.

"The encouraging thing was the sentiments that came worldwide, it wasn't just from those teams or the Australian cricket community.

"From now on whatever cricket is played, those memories and sentiments will always be in the backs of people's minds.

"But while the game of cricket honours his memory, we can't let it affect the way we go about the game, whether that is playing in an aggressive manner.

"It is important that all sides play in their way."

Source: PA