Trevor Bayliss has emerged as the favoured candidate among the Australia team to replace Justin Langer as head coach.
Telegraph Sport understands that Bayliss is backed by most of Australia’s senior players and coaching staff to be appointed when Langer steps down which could be as soon as the end of the series.
Bayliss, who coached England to World Cup success in 2019 but had a mixed record in Test cricket, knows many of the players from his days coaching New South Wales, including Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and David Warner.
He is seen as an antidote to the intense, volatile Langer who nearly lost his job last year when the dressing room rebelled against his methods.
He has since tempered his style, allowing the players more freedom to run the team under Cummins and Aaron Finch at the Twenty20 World Cup.
Langer will leave with a good record after overseeing the T20 win, although he received little credit for it, and beating England comprehensively to retain the Ashes.
Cummins refused to be drawn on Langer’s future when he was asked about it after the second Test in Adelaide but in an interview with Telegraph Sport he praised the head coach. “He has been great. He is there to throw me some ideas. He works in the background making sure everyone gets what they need. That is coaches and players.
“The environment is in a really great place at the moment. I feel like I have all the support in the world internally and a lot of knowledge to call on if I need to.”
Bayliss was popular with the England players. His laid-back style allowed Eoin Morgan freedom to run the one-day teams in his own style and it worked but Joe Root needed a firmer hand and Test results were inconsistent with batting the major problem.
Since leaving the England job Bayliss has coached the Sunrisers in the IPL and is currently in charge of Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash.
Langer is contracted until June but is due to hold talks with Cricket Australia at the end of the series. If he leaves, he is unlikely to be out of work for long. He will be linked to the England job if Chris Silverwood stands down.
