Australia’s Trevor Bayliss may have overtaken compatriot Jason Gillespie in the race to be the new permanent head coach of England, according to media reports.
Former Australia fast bowler Gillespie has long been regarded as the favourite to replace the recently-sacked Peter Moores.
Gillespie is currently the coach of English county champions Yorkshire and was appointed to that role by Colin Graves, now the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
But reports in Australia and Britain said Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s new director of cricket, was poised to make an offer to experienced coach Bayliss.
The 52-year-old Bayliss guided New South Wales to two domestic first-class Sheffield Shield titles in Australia and was Sri Lanka’s coach when they reached the 2011 World Cup final.
He is also a former colleague of current England caretaker coach Paul Farbrace, the pair having worked together with Sri Lanka.
The ECB have made no official statement as yet but if either Bayliss or Gillespie gets the job it will see one of them coaching against their native country when England face Australia in an Ashes series starting in Cardiff in July.
Australia great Shane Warne said Bayliss would be a good choice for the England job.
“I know him well,” Warne told Sky Sports on Monday. “He’s done a wonderful job, on all the reports, with the teams he’s coached — whether it be Sri Lanka, the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL (Indian Premier League), New South Wales, Big Bash.”
The former leg-spinner added: “I think he’s more of a ‘background’ sort of coach, a bit like the New Zealand camp.
“He’s not front and square all the time, (but) he’s not afraid to give a few rockets when they’re needed.
“He’s a good man, Trevor Bayliss, a really good man.”