Bayliss in frame for England job after Gillespie ruled out
Trevor Bayliss has overtaken Jason Gillespie in the race to be new permanent head coach of England.
LONDON (AFP) - Australia s Trevor Bayliss appears to have overtaken Jason Gillespie in the race to be the new permanent head coach of England after his compatriot revealed he is out of the running.
Gillespie had been regarded as the favourite to replace the recently-sacked Peter Moores.
The former Australia fast bowler 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 on Monday said Andrew Strauss, the ECB s new director of cricket, was poised to make an offer to experienced coach Bayliss.
And Gillespie later confirmed that he was no longer in contention for the position.
"I ve spoken to Andrew Strauss and I m not the preferred candidate, so that s their call," Gillespie told Sky Sports News.
"I d hardly say I m disappointed. But I think it would have been a good job to have, no question.
"There s exciting times ahead for English cricket and it would have been a great challenge, but it s not to be.
"I ve got a wonderful job with Yorkshire and the Adelaide Strikers, and I m really looking forward to continuing that work."
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 Bayliss gets the job he will be coaching against his 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."
