Sangakkara hails Bayliss and Farbrace revolution

Kumar Sangakkara, the distinguished former Sri Lanka batsman, has attributed England's success in all three formats of the game in the last year to coach Trevor Bayliss' relationship with assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

Published : May 16, 2016 22:49 IST

England's Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace with the Ashes urn last year.
England's Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace with the Ashes urn last year.
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England's Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace with the Ashes urn last year.

Trevor Bayliss' relationship with Paul Farbrace has been key in England's revival across all three forms of cricket, says Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara. Since taking charge of the England team in May 2015, head coach Bayliss and assistant Farbrace have regained the Ashes, masterminded a Test series win in South Africa and reached the final of the World Twenty20.

Sangakkara worked with the pair during their previous roles with Sri Lanka - when they reached the 2011 Cricket World Cup final - and he sees a lot of similarities between the two sides.

The retired batsman believes England is reaping the rewards of the relaxed atmosphere created by Bayliss and Farbrace. "I think the entire change of set-up has been to the credit of both coaches, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace - both of them have done exceptional jobs," Sangakkara told Omnisport .

"I think Farby gets a bit lost in the entire thing and doesn't get the recognition that he's due, but when Trevor and Paul were coaching Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2011 they worked very well in partnership, both of them have a great attitude towards people and the way they approach coaching.

" I think the biggest plus they bring to the table is the fact they allow players to grow. They don't crowd them, they don't overwhelm them with too much information, they're not over-bearing.

"They allow players to be themselves, to express themselves and they're very free when it comes to allowing people to make mistakes as long as they learn from them. 

"That has been one of the biggest changes you'll see, players enjoying themselves more, playing with a lot more freedom, making mistakes at times, yes, but the support they get from the two coaches in Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace is outstanding and that really makes for a healthy dressing room. 

"They are exceptional people, exceptional coaches."

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