Bayliss calls on county cricketers to challenge England's Test stars

England lost the second Test inside three days. © Getty

England's batsmen will meet on Sunday, the day after their embarrassing defeat to West Indies in Antigua, as they attempt to address the chronic issues which have dogged them for the past four years.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss has called the session after another abject display with the bat subjected his team to a three-day defeat at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. It followed hot on the heels of being dismissed for 77 in the first innings of the previous Test in Barbados and continued a worrying trend of collapses since the Australian took over that England have not been able to resolve.

"They were certainly very down yesterday, probably more so than even in Barbados," said Bayliss. "I think there's some fairly deep thoughts going on, not just individually but in small groups. We want to get to the root of why we haven't played as well as we'd like.

"You can't dwell on things too much so it affects you in your next performance as well. These guys in the past have been very good at coming out of these types of performances, and it's usually when they've gone out and backed themselves to play their way. Not be confused on what's the best way for them.

"We're having a bit of an informal chat this afternoon. We posed some questions to them last night in the changing room, given them 24 hours to have a think about it. It won't be me standing up in front of them like a schoolteacher. Maybe around the pool or something like that. Just having a chat, trying to get to what they think they might have to change or do a little differently."

England were bundled out on day three in Antigua, losing ten wickets for 97 runs and batting, collectively, for just 42 more deliveries than Darren Bravo had on his own when making a first innings half-century for the home side. A number of England's batsmen were out playing expansively - Rory Burns, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes - while others, such as Joe Denly and Jos Buttler, fell to errors of judgement.

"There's been some poor shot selection, loose shots," added Bayliss. "I'd refrain from saying soft. There's some guys in there that have played some very tough cricket in tough conditions and done very well. On this occasion, there were some loose shots, and on this type of wicket I think some were loose, some were tentative."

England made the only real change open to them on the batting front, replacing Keaton Jennings with Denly, but outside the squad, Bayliss reckons there are not enough other players pushing the incumbents. "One of the things we'd like to see is plenty of guys in county cricket putting pressure on those blokes," he said. "The guys we have tried at the top of the order over the last few years have been the best players in county cricket.

"From a middle-order point of view, we've probably got the best players in England, but they're not being pushed from behind either. Yes, we're looking for some top-order players to do well, and we have been for a while. But there doesn't seem to be the ready-made international player who's made plenty of runs and has the game that can succeed at international level. The best pressure is from within, pushing individuals to do better."

The batting struggles of the Test team stand in stark contrast to those of the limited overs side which has one of the most formidable white-ball batting line-ups ever assembled. There is a thought that those batsmen who play all formats - the likes of Bairstow and Buttler - are stuck in the ultra aggressive mode which has made the ODI team in particular such a success since the last World Cup. Bayliss concedes that sometimes, he feels the messages are blurred between the formats.

"We've got the one-day team that goes out and plays that way, sometimes I feel the message between one-day cricket and Test cricket gets muddled a little," he said. "But certainly within the team there hasn't been a lack of talking. We've got to do the hard yards. That's been the chat the whole time. If they're bowling well early and there's a bit in the deck, get through that tough period. The longer you bat, the runs do start to come.

"There's no denying that any defeat is not good. It's how you come back from it. Obviously we didn't come back too well in this game. It's a concern when you're losing. It's a big year ahead. Having said that, the one-day team is a little different to the Test team. They go about it in a slightly different fashion, different captain. I'd have to say it's a concern, let's see how they respond.

"I think they are more confident with how to play the one-day game than the Test game. They are still coming to terms and trying to work out what is the best way to play Test cricket but in one-day cricket they are very confident in the way the go about it."