PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Coach Trevor Bayliss has said batsmen who impress in the early matches in the English county season could force their way into the team for the home series against Sri Lanka starting in May.
England beat former world number one South Africa 2-1 in a four-test series that ended on Tuesday but their top order batting remained fragile.
Alex Hales is the latest opener to fail convince as England seek a reliable partner for captain Alastair Cook, while Nick Compton and James Taylor need to produce more consistent performances to cement their places.
“We’re by no means the finished article. There is some very good talent in the team, but there are a few rough edges to knock off as well and that will take some time,” said Bayliss, an Australian who took charge last year.
“I think that is a sign to everyone else in county cricket that, ‘If I come out and score runs early in the season, there are possibilities there’.
“There are four or five rounds of county matches before that first test against Sri Lanka. Those matches will be very important for some of those players,” Bayliss told reporters.
The county season starts on Sunday, April 10 and the first test against Sri Lanka is at Headingley in Leeds on May 19.
England finished the series on a low note when South Africa bowled them out for just 101 to clinch a consolation victory by 280 runs.
Bayliss called England’s success in South Africa a collective effort despite some stunning individual performances.
Those included an unforgettable innings from all-rounder Ben Stokes in Cape Town when he scored the fastest double century by an English batsman in test history.
Stuart Broad produced another of his match-winning performances when he took six wickets in the second innings of the third test at the Wanderers.
