Following the death of Shane Warne, Trevor Bayliss has been appointed as the interim men’s head coach of the London Spirit in The Hundred competition of English cricket.
One of the game’s greatest players, former Australia leg-spinner-turned-coach Warne died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52 in Thailand in March, leaving the cricket world in shock and grief.
Bayliss’ appointment reunites the Aussies with spirits captain Eoin Morgan after the pair steered England to the 2019 50-over World Cup title with a thrilling win over New Zealand at Lord’s with their new side headquartered.
Warne was the Spirit’s coach for the inaugural season of last year’s Hundred, a new 100 balls per side format that is even shorter than Twenty20 cricket.
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Although the Spirit was at the bottom of the eight-team table, Bayliss, 59, said in a statement, “It’s obviously too bitter to play the role given the circumstances.
“It’s an honor to try and build on what Varney started. The team knew what he and Eoin were trying to build and I hope we can do that this year.”
Along with a four-year stint as England coach in both the red and white ball formats, Bayliss was also in charge of Sri Lanka from 2007–11.
He coached the Sydney Sixers to the inaugural 2011/12 title in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition, as well as twice winning the Indian Premier League – the world’s most lucrative domestic T20 franchise tournament – with Kolkata Knight Riders.
After stepping down from England duty three years ago, Bayliss coached Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash.
London Spirit team manager Fraser Stewart said: “We were very fortunate to have worked with Shane last year and we hope the team plays in a style that they will be proud of this summer.”
Spirit is the first choice in Monday’s Player Draft of the Hundred, the results of which will be announced on Tuesday.
They will hope to add two overseas players to strengthen a team that already includes England white-ball captain Morgan, Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and pacer Mark Wood as well as batsmen Jack Crowley and Dan Lawrence. Includes a trio of Test players from England.
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