LONDON: England coach Trevor Bayliss accepts the Test side´s top order has been their Achilles heel "for the last six or seven years" as he looks to World Cup winner Jason Roy to make a success of the position during the Ashes.After Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, England great Alastair Cook got through a dozen opening partners of his own before calling time on his Test career last year.Meanwhile the vexed question of who should bat at number three has been another long-running issue during Bayliss´s four-year reign, which will end after an Ashes series that starts in Birmingham next week.Fears about England´s fragility at the top of the order were reinforced by their first-innings collapse to 85 all out in the first session of their inaugural Test against Ireland at Lord´s this week.That their bowlers bailed them out of trouble by dismissing Ireland for just 38 on Friday to seal a 143-run win did little to allay the longstanding concerns over England´s specialist batsmen.Bayliss, asked if England´s top order presented the team´s biggest problem, replied: "You don´t have to be Einstein to work that out."They have been for the last six or seven years, but it didn´t stop us (winning the Ashes) four years ago," the Australian added.The top three who played against Ireland -- Test debutant Roy, Rory Burns and Joe Denly -- have all been retained in a 14-man squad for the first Test against Australia that begins at Edgbaston on Thursday.Burns averages just 22.28 in seven Tests and Denly 24.16 in three.Now England are hoping Roy can follow the example of Australia´s David Warner by taking his white-ball form into the Test arena.Fresh from playing a key role at the top of he order in England´s victorious World Cup campaign, Roy made 72 in his second Test innings against Ireland.The 28-year-old has played the bulk of his first-class career with Surrey as a middle-order batsman and doubts remain about his ability to cope with new-ball seam movement."Like any debutant, he looked nervous but to score 70-odd in your first Test was a good effort," said Bayliss.
from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2SLwlLP
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