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The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish

The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish
POSITIVE PAIR: England’s Joe Root and Trevor Bayliss. (AP)
Updated 08 December 2017

The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish

The Ashes: Bayliss stays bullish

LONDON: Trevor Bayliss claims England left ā€œa few scarsā€ on Australia during the Adelaide Test, suggesting the home side’s second innings batting performance will have some players feeling ā€œnervous.ā€
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.
ā€œWe have got a few scars there with the Australian team,ā€ Bayliss told the BBC.
ā€œThere will be a few who have missed out and a few who will be nervous.
ā€œThey’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.ā€
Joe Root was also positive after the game, saying England were ā€œstill massivelyā€ in the series.
This is despite England not beating Australia at Perth’s WACA Ground since 1978, where the third Test starts next week.
ā€œWe’ve shown throughout the two Tests in periods we can out-perform Australia, but just not over five days,ā€ 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.
ā€œIf we can perform to our ability for longer periods of time we’ll win games. The belief in the dressing room is definitely there.ā€
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.
ā€œIf we do that well we can put more pressure on Australia than we did on this match,ā€ he said.

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