ODI mindset may be behind England's poor Test batting – Trevor Bayliss

While the attacking mindset of Eoin Morgan’s ODI team was credited in some quarters for the successful approach adopted by England in Sri Lanka last year, where they won 3-0, Bayliss admitted the message could have been “misinterpreted”. Of England’s top seven in Antigua, only Rory Burns was not involved in the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour.”We’ve got the one-day team that goes out and plays that way, sometimes I feel the message between one-day cricket and Test cricket gets muddled a little,” he said. “But certainly within the team there hasn’t been a lack of talking about it. We’ve got to do the hard yards. That’s been the chat the whole time. You’ve got to play your game and if that means doing hard yards, boys talk about earning the right. If they’re bowling well early and there’s a bit in the deck, get through that tough period. The longer you bat, the runs do start to come.”Bayliss suggested there had been hard words in the dressing room in Barbados, after which he called for more “guts and determination” from the players. This time, he said, the management had “posed some questions” to the team, while offering some mitigation for the difficult nature of the pitch in Antigua.”They were certainly very down yesterday, probably more so than even in Barbados. I think there’s some fairly deep thoughts going on, not just individually but in small groups. We want to get to the root of why we haven’t played as well as we’d like. You can’t dwell on things too much so it affects you in your next performance as well. These guys in the past have been very good at coming out of these types of performances, and it’s usually when they’ve gone out and backed themselves to play their way. Not be confused on what’s the best way for them.”We’re having a bit of an informal chat this afternoon. We posed some questions to them last night in the changing room, given them 24 hours to have a think about it. It won’t be me standing up in front of them like a schoolteacher. Maybe around the pool or something like that. Just having a chat, trying to get to what they think they might have to change or do a little differently.”There’s been some poor shot selection, loose shots. I’d refrain from saying ‘soft’. There’s some guys in there that have played some very tough cricket in tough conditions and done very well. On this occasion, there were some loose shots, and on this type of wicket I think some were loose, some were tentative.”Ben Stokes shows his frustration after playing on•Associated Press

England have one last chance to try and rectify some of the shortcomings in their Test batting in the final match in St Lucia, starting on Saturday, before switching into World Cup build-up mode. Acknowledging that it is a “big year ahead”, with the Ashes to follow later in the summer, Bayliss was hopeful that a bad start to 2019 would not colour attempts to secure a first global 50-over trophy on home soil – a target that has been in mind since the Australian was hired in 2015.”There’s no denying that any defeat is not good. It’s how you come back from it. Obviously we didn’t come back too well in this game. It’s a concern when you’re losing. It’s a big year ahead. Having said that, the one-day team is a little different to the Test team. They go about it in a slightly different fashion, different captain. I’d have to say it’s a concern, let’s see how they respond.”That was a concern from a management point of view over the last two or three years … Could we handle the pressure of a home World Cup? That’s why over the last couple years at every opportunity we’ve tried to say that, if we are the favourites playing at home, get them used to that and playing under that pressure.”I think they are more confident with how to play the one-day game than the Test game. They are still coming to terms and trying to work out what is the best way to play Test cricket but in one-day cricket they are very confident in the way to go about it.”