Trevor Bayliss has hailed the captaincy of Alastair Cook, alongside the efforts of the rest of the team, in the 169-run win over Australia in the first Investec Ashes Test.

Praise from a number of pundits was reserved for England captain Cook, his imaginative field positions and the use of his bowling attack two of the key areas he was lauded for.

And Bayliss was no different, labeling the 30-year-old’s captaincy ‘fantastic’ throughout the emphatic victory in Cardiff.

"His captaincy in this game was fantastic," Bayliss said. "He is a very calm operator and he is very well respected by the players in the team. His captaincy was top-notch.

"He is obviously a fantastic batsman, but he didn't score as many runs in this match as he would like. I thought his approach in the first innings - even though he only got 20 - sent a bit of a message to the rest of the players that here was the captain who was trying to be that positive batsman.

“Maybe that is a little bit out of his comfort zone that he was trying to show the way. Most of the good captains around are not only leaders of the team but they lead the way in their attitude.

"My message to Alastair is to go out and play his own way. Yes, we were talking as a group about being mentally aggressive - not necessarily trying to whack sixes and fours - but if you are mentally aggressive, your feet start moving and you put away those boundary balls when they come along. Sometimes that message can take a little bit of time to sink in I suppose.

"People like Alastair and Ian Bell have scored plenty of Test hundreds. My advice to them would be to go out and bat like you always have done. Those two guys are class players and can change their game to suit any situation. The rest of the guys can bat around them."

The tourists were thoroughly outplayed at the SSE Swalec with performances from Mark Wood and Moeen Ali also catching the eye.

However, Bayliss, who was impressed by both Wood and Ali, believes Australia will have a point to prove come the start of the second test at Lord’s on Thursday.

“Wood’s a little bit of a joker. He always has a smile on his face. That type of approach rubs off on other people,” he said.

“But behind that he is one hell of a bowler as well. He can get the ball through at reasonably good pace, he moves the ball, he changes his angle on the crease, he makes the batter think and puts pressure on the batter.

“For him to come on after Broad and Anderson is one of the advantages we've got.

“I thought Moeen bowled very well. He used variation and flight. He tried to get the ball up and down with top spin on it and beat the batter in flight. I'm not sure he bowled an actual doosra. I thought it was a topspinner."

“Australia will be hurting. They don't like losing. They have a proud record and losing will mean they come out in the next game trying to prove a point and trying to make up for their performance in this match.

“We are going to have to be on our game to win more matches from now."

 

Tickets for Day 5 of the otherwise sold out Fourth Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge are still available priced at just £20. Don't miss the chance to watch the sport's most historic contest and secure your seats now.