LONDON: In May 2015, when Peter Moores was sacked after England’s cricketers had blundered their way through another World Cup campaign, there were two leading contenders for the job. Jason Gillespie, once part of Steve Waugh’s all-conquering Australian side, had helped Yorkshire to a first County Championship in 13 years, and was on the way to retaining the title. The other candidate, Trevor Bayliss, had an impeccable resume for limited-overs cricket.
He had taken Sri Lanka to the final of both the World Twenty20 (2009) and the World Cup (2011), and had won the Indian Premier League (IPL) twice with the once-dysfunctional Kolkata Knight Riders. Back home, Bayliss won the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers, who then went on to triumph at the Champions League Twenty20 as well. And just to illustrate that there was more to him than white-ball nous, Bayliss won the Sheffield Shield twice with New South Wales.
The choice for English cricket’s decision-makers was a straightforward one. Gillespie had become an insider of sorts, someone with an intimate knowledge of the county scene and its players. At the highest level, however, he was untested. Bayliss was not. He has been there, done that, and then done some more.
With the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) certain that the sport’s future lay in attracting more young players and fans to the white-ball formats, Bayliss became the obvious choice. Gillespie did win that second title, and then nearly a third, before returning home to Australia.
The upswing in England’s limited-overs fortunes has vindicated the ECB. Where other teams had floored the pedal during the World Cup campaign, England went through the competition with the handbrake on. Bayliss soon fixed that, empowering the players to go out and express themselves. England have a 34-15 win-loss record in 52 ODIs since he was appointed, and a 12-9 record in the T20 format.
They reached the final of the World Twenty20 in 2016, when the manner in which they overhauled a huge South Africa total of 229 in one of the group games spoke volumes of the mindset change that Bayliss had helped bring about. On home soil for the Champions Trophy in 2017, they romped through the league phase before coming unstuck against an inspired Pakistan in the semifinal.
The white ball is not a problem. The red ball is. In 36 Tests that he has presided over, England have lost 17 and won only 15. Apart from this Ashes debacle, there was the 4-0 drubbing in India last winter, and Test losses to Bangladesh and West Indies, who languish at the bottom of the pile.
There have been some notable victories, especially home and away against South Africa. But away from seam-friendly surfaces, where raw pace, spin and reverse swing come into play, England have been no match for the opposition. Bayliss’s admission after Perth, that he had no answers, was admirably forthright, but it would not have pleased his employers.
Far removed from the county circuit, which has already been weakened by a decade of ECB tweaks, Bayliss is no technical genius like Duncan Fletcher either. Part of the reason for England’s plight has been the inability of the batting group to post big scores. In those 36 Tests, there have been just 25 hundreds.
In that same period, Steve Smith alone has scored 14 in 33 Tests, while his teammates have accounted for another 30. India have tallied 46 centuries in 31 Tests, with Virat Kohli scoring 10 of them. England may well beat both Australia and India in seam-friendly conditions, but batsmen and bowlers alike struggle when confronted by harder, drier surfaces. Unfortunately for England, the vast majority of cricket is played in such conditions.
If Bayliss continues to be lost for answers, it is time the ECB started asking harder questions.
England coach Trevor Bayliss might be best to stick to white-ball cricket
England coach Trevor Bayliss might be best to stick to white-ball cricket
LIV Golf CEO says informal talks with PGA Tour ongoing
- LIV continues to have ‘constructive dialogue’ with OWGR on ranking points
NEW YORK: LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has said informal conversations between the Saudi-funded circuit and the PGA Tour are continuing but any hope of ending the sport’s longest-running soap opera is not currently on the horizon.
O’Neil maintains regular contact with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, a friend and former business-school classmate, but said their communication has not brought any meaningful progress toward finalizing the framework agreement the two circuits announced in June 2023 before either were in their current role.
“The reality is we continue to have conversations, and Brian and I do have a relationship — we text, we talk relatively regularly,” O’Neil told Reuters during an interview from LIV Golf’s New York office.
“We are not in any serious negotiation at this point. We both believe that there are opportunities to work together, and we both believe that there is plenty of space in golf. We at LIV Golf are intently focused on developing LIV Golf around the world.”
Trump’s involvement
LIV Golf, which held its inaugural event in June 2022, has shaken up the golf world like never before and, with the help of mega-money contracts and lucrative purses, has lured several top names from the PGA Tour into its stable of players.
LIV players include the likes of Bryson DeChambeau — considered golf’s greatest showman — and fellow major champions Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
After a year of acrimony, the PGA Tour, Europe-based DP World Tour and Saudi backers of LIV Golf announced in June 2023 a framework agreement to house their commercial operations in a new entity but have failed to reach a definitive agreement.
The divide has even captured the attention of US President Donald Trump, an avid golfer who was part of two meetings on the matter at the White House in February when there was optimism that the schism between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour would soon be resolved.
O’Neil said he still felt LIV Golf should “do something” with the PGA Tour but did not elaborate on what any sort of agreement would look like. He also did not give details on when, or if, the two sides plan to meet next, a stance he said he shared with Rolapp.
“We both agreed that we are going to keep all that stuff between the two of us,” said O’Neil. “If there is ever anything to report we’ll report it.”
World ranking points
When it comes to LIV’s ongoing bid for world ranking points, which are considered critical given the majors use them to help determine their fields, O’Neil is hopeful a decision on the matter could happen in the coming weeks.
LIV’s initial bid to have its players earn world ranking points was unanimously rejected by the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2023, with a key concern said to be limited access for players to join a circuit that, barring injury, featured the same players all season.
The OWGR also said at the time that LIV’s 54-hole format was an issue but one that was capable of being managed through an appropriate mathematical formula.
In June, LIV Golf renewed its pursuit of world ranking points by submitting an application with the OWGR, whose governing board includes non-voting Chairman Trevor Immelman, members from all four majors plus members of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Participating Eligible Tours.
LIV has also since announced it will expand its tournament format to 72 holes in 2026.
“We continue to have constructive dialogue,” said O’Neil. “We are hoping to get something done by the turn of the calendar (year) and we are still on that timeline.
“I have a lot of time for Trevor Immelman, a lot of respect for him as a chairman and as a leader. I found him strong, demanding, tough at times, and I think really constructive.”
‘Bullish on the future’
After 11 months as CEO, O’Neil is upbeat about LIV’s future with the circuit on pace to sell out all premium hospitality seating for 2026 — when it will stage 14 events across 10 countries — after what it called a record-setting year in 2025.
“I’ve never had this much fun in a job. I’ve never been this challenged, this exhilarated, this bullish on the future,” said O’Neil.
“When I talk about being bullish on the future I am specifically referring to the stars, so Bryson, Jon Rahm ... and the emerging young talent we have. Seeing what’s actually happening here gives me hope.
“And then the commercial momentum and success has been like nothing I have seen in 30 years in this business.”
