Paul Farbrace likely to replace Trevor Bayliss

Coaching the England Cricket Team to their first ever white-wash of Australia in any format has not only won interim coach Paul Farbrace laurels but might also be his pathway to the head coach position that will be vacant once Bayliss' tenure ends come September 2019. After being appointed the temporary replacement coach in place of Bayliss for the limited-overs leg of the English summer, news is emerging that the move has more to it than just workload management.

While Farbrace takes care of the white-ball assignments this summer, it gives Bayliss some time off to scout for red-ball talent by keeping an eye on the county fixtures around the country.

"Andrew Strauss [the director of England cricket] spoke to me six months ago about giving Farby some exposure with the top team," Bayliss explained.

"My thought on it would be, yes, let's split the coaching," Bayliss said. "It's close to two [different] teams, anyway. We are constantly having to keep an eye on the players, but there's burn-out with coaches, too."

"I think it will go that way. I don't know what Straussy has in mind but I wouldn't be surprised if, in years to come, it did go that way."

Farbrace, who had a rather unimpressive County career, has made it big in the second dig in a coaching position. He was the head coach of the Sri Lankan team that broke the final jinx they had carried since 2007, losing four finals in five years, by leading them to a drought-breaking ICC World T20 title in 2014.

He then became the assistant coach of England under Peter Moores and the tenure had its share of ups and downs. After the 2015 World Cup nightmare, Moores was sacked as the English coach and Farbrace was appointed as the interim head coach.

He turned England's style of play around, as in their first match under him, they went from a side that were criticized for not breaking out of a 1990s brand of cricket, to a side that scaled the 400-run mark after being 6/202 in an ODI against World Cup finalists New Zealand, the same opposition that had earlier annihilated them in the World Cup.

With the necessary backing, Farbrace, who now knows the ins and outs of the English side, will do well to fill Bayliss' shoes once he steps down. This only goes to show that England are a revitalized side, not just on the field, but in terms of off-field preparedness as well.