LONDON: Trevor Bayliss claims England left “a few scars” on Australia during the Adelaide Test, suggesting the home side’s second innings batting performance will have some players feeling “nervous.”
The fighting talk came after England slumped to a crushing 120-run defeat in the second Test of the five-match series, leaving the tourists trailing 2-0 and on the verge of losing the Ashes.
Despite succumbing again, Bayliss was upbeat about his bowlers skittling Australia for 138 in the second innings, leaving England with a chance of chasing down a record 354-run victory target.
And the England coach is determined to focus on that rather than the failure to ever really look like winning either of the two Tests so far.
“We have got a few scars there with the Australian team,” Bayliss told the BBC.
“There will be a few who have missed out and a few who will be nervous.
“They’ve got four good bowlers and we’ve shown we can compete with them for a period of time. We’ve just got to do it for longer.”
Joe Root was also positive after the game, saying England were “still massively” in the series.
This is despite England not beating Australia at Perth’s WACA Ground since 1978, where the third Test starts next week.
“We’ve shown throughout the two Tests in periods we can out-perform Australia, but just not over five days,” said Root, who scored 67 in the second innings run chase but failed to stay at the crease long enough to give his side a realistic shot at winning.
“If we can perform to our ability for longer periods of time we’ll win games. The belief in the dressing room is definitely there.”
Bayliss said the team played well in final days of the Adelaide day-night Test, but they needed to make more than 220 runs in an innings to stand a chance in Perth.
“If we do that well we can put more pressure on Australia than we did on this match,” he said.
The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish
The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish
