Bayliss lauds Stokes' Anderson-like skills

Whatever Trevor Bayliss' ability as a coach - and an early Ashes victory enhances an already outstanding record - he surely has no future as a media spin doctor.

Certainly his attempts to play down expectations of Ben Stokes backfired. What started as an attempt to avoid comparisons with Andrew Flintoff or Ian Botham, ended with England's new coach comparing him with England's highest wicket-taker and praising both other aspects of his game. Even the outwardly calm Bayliss, it seems, is excited by Stokes' potential.

"We don't want to put too much expectation on him," Bayliss said. "We don't want to say he's going to be the next Botham, or the next Flintoff. He'll be the next Ben Stokes."

But then he couldn't help himself.

"His batting is right up there," Bayliss continued, now warming to his subject. "And with his bowling, as we've seen here, he could be another Jimmy Anderson."

Another James Anderson. Another man who takes 400 Test wickets and leads the attack with distinction in England, Australia and India. It is quite a claim.

On the evidence of Trent Bridge, though, it is not quite so outlandish as it may sound. Stokes harnessed the conditions so expertly that he did a more than a reasonable job of standing in for the injured Anderson. Swinging the ball sharply, generating sharp pace and delivering long, consistent spells, he claimed six second-innings wickets and looked every inch Anderson's successor.

Add to that Stokes' batting and you can understand why Bayliss is excited and why, during the Caribbean tour, Phil Simmons compared Stokes to Jacques Kallis.

As Bayliss put it: "On top of that he's probably the best fielder in the team as well. To have that rolled up in one player is a good thing for English cricket.

"I'm sure we'll all enjoy watching where he'll end up, and the performances he puts on the board over the next 10 to 15 years. I'm looking forward to it."

Stokes' first experience of international cricket was not especially happy. Only once in his first 27 ODIs did he reach 40 and he struggled to find consistency with the ball.

But now, in the more relaxed England environment, he is one of the players who appears to be thriving and seems set to play a defining role in the team over the next decade.

Bayliss has played a role in creating that environment. Outwardly calm, at least - "I'm like a duck under the water, feet paddling pretty quickly," he said - he has emphasised enjoyment and relaxation and, notably, has reintroduced football in the warm-ups where it was, in the past, considered an injury risk.

It probably is an injury risk, of course. But Bayliss has reasoned that the positives - it brings the team together in a way in which they enjoy - outweighs the potential negatives.

"I think if the coach is showing his emotion, or looking nervous and making comments that are not necessarily helpful, it just makes the players even more nervous," he explained. "They are going to be nervous anyway. They just don't need that negative feel from others as well.

"You want the team to be happy. It doesn't matter what it is - it could be a game of marbles - but as long as they're feeling good about themselves and doing what they want to do, that's great. The football the boys play certainly gets their juices flowing."

The "juices are flowing" in Bayliss, too. Much as he tried to minimise expectations, much as he knows his team are raw and that tough challenges loom in the not too distant future, it is clear he is excited by the potential of what he sees.

"We'll enjoy this win tonight," he said. "But we're not going to paper over the cracks. There are some improvements to be made with this team if we want to be the best in the world, and want to play consistent cricket over a period of time and on foreign soil.

"So we have got some things we've got to work on. But if they keep improving, the future is bright."