Rat leaving sinking ship - before a disaster?
I don't think so. Bayliss is leaving at the end of the Ashes and so there's a good chance whoever takes over would want his own assistant. Farbrace obviously sees this as too good an opportunity to turn down. There's no reason why England shouldn't do well this summer. Their home Test record is very good, Australia don't look great and they've been playing very well in ODIs for the last 4 years now. He's giving up the opportunity of winning the World Cup and Ashes in the same summer. They're favourites for the Ashes and have as good a chance as anyone else of winning the World Cup. Knockout tournaments are always a bit of a lottery as one bad game and the best teams can go out.
If it was either an Ashes summer or World Cup, I may have agreed. However, it's a bit like a manager of an unfancied football club moving to a 'bigger' club in the Spring after getting through to a Wembley Final whilst still being in contention for the EPL.
He must think that the Warwicks job is really great - because after winning either/both WC and Ashes he could have his pick of any Franchise in the World...
I'm not so sure that the Aussies are as weak as portrayed - not great compared to past teams. What might tip it either way is the reintroduction of Smith (and maybe Warner). The Aussie batting certainly needs bolstering, but what would dressing room morale be like especially if DW was to return with Tim (nice) Paine in charge? If they keep their quicks fit, I can see us being regularly rolled over, and don't forget that Lyon is a reliable spinner and the Ashes is in the drier part of summer.
I agree that the ODI tournament could go either way. Depending upon the format, World Cups can be limited to a 'phoney war' followed by a couple of proper matches. I don't have confidence in our ODI bowling and we've had the odd unexpected cock-up with the batting as well so although we ought to make it to the semi-final, I could see us making a mess that we tend to make of these tournaments.
