(MENAFN- Gulf Times) As the dust settled on England's reawakening in one-day cricket, one which saw them beat the World Cup finalists New Zealand 3-2 through aggressive and intrepid play, thoughts inevitably turned to the Ashes series. For Paul Farbrace, the interim head coach until the arrival of Trevor Bayliss on Thursday, the optimism that engulfs the team at present should ease the Australian into the setup nicely.
Before the five-Test series with Michael Clarke's side comes a four-day training camp at an unspecified location in Spain this weekend, where Bayliss will meet his new players as they prepare for the first Test, in Cardiff on 8 July. No cricket equipment, except balls and some training gear, will be taken, with the emphasis being on fielding prowess € the 52-year-old is a stickler for that € as well as strategy and team bonding.
"The key thing is for Trevor to spend time with the players rather than just turn up in Cardiff on the Saturday ahead of the Ashes and shake a few hands," said Farbrace, who spent two years alongside Bayliss on the Sri Lanka coaching staff. "It will be four days for him to get his messages over to the lads and for the lads to feel comfortable around him. Trevor is someone who will fit into what we're doing as opposed to coming in and rewriting everything from start to finish € he's not that sort of a person.
"The key will be that the lads have got together, very focused on what they want to achieve and very clear on the way Trevor wants to work. It'll do them the world of good, and we're just getting away, no distractions and a chance to make sure we're very clear going into the Tests. Trevor will fit into what's going on and gradually make changes as he sees fit. With his knowledge and experience he will make good changes at the right times. Let's make no mistake, the Australia series will be an extremely tough one but Trevor is coming in at a good time € there is a feelgood factor."
While Farbrace is a tough man from which to draw self-praise, there is little doubt his influence has played a part in England's upturn in performance and it is easy to see why his services were retained when Peter Moores, the man under whom he worked for 12 months, was dispensed with at the start of May. Players consistently reference the 47-year-old when discussing their exploits on the field; he seems central to the feelgood factor he references.
Pushed for his own input into the vast improvement with the white ball since England's World Cup immolation, the self-effacing Farbrace once again acknowledged his incoming ally. "The message we tried to get across € and it's something Trevor was very keen on before we started € was encouraging the players to play the way they do for their counties. His term was that 'It takes balls to do that and it's up to them to show they've got the balls to do it'. Crikey, they've certainly shown that in abundance this series."
"Every county cricketer's aim should be to play international cricket. They should all be banging on the door and wanting to play international cricket, one-day or Tests. And it's a fantastic position for Trevor and the selectors to be in," he added.
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