"We are going to leave here with a view to win, simple as that. One thing this group has got is plenty of fight and character."
Sunday 10 September 2017 20:27, UK
Trevor Bayliss says England can beat a "far from stable" Australia in the Ashes - if they improve their "terrible" catching.
England spilled at least 14 catches during the 2-1 series win over Windies and coach Bayliss admits that is a worry as his team prepares to defend the urn they claimed by beating Australia at home in 2015.
However, the 54-year-old is confident England can shake off concerns over a number of spots in their batting order and beat Steve Smith's side, who recently drew 1-1 in Bangladesh.
"We are not going over to make up the numbers," said Bayliss. "We are going to leave here with a view to win, simple as that.
"One thing this group has got is plenty of fight and character and I think our opposition in the Ashes is far from stable.
"But we are not going to go there and win anything dropping that many. It always concerns me - the catching has been terrible, especially in the last couple of Tests.
"It is not from a lack of practice. We were catching quite well up until the last three Tests, and some of the catches we dropped were quite easy. Dropping easy catches is usually down to concentration.
"Some of the grounds in this last series haven't been the greatest viewing grounds, but they are professional players and should be grabbing hold of some of those they've dropped."
Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley and Dawid Malan face a nervous wait to see if they are picked in England's Ashes squad having averaged 30, 38.50 and 17.75 respectively against the Windies.
"That's the big question - whether the three guys we have been speaking about all summer have done enough," said the Australian.
"They have shown that they are good enough, but are they good enough for long enough - are they tough enough, especially for an Ashes series?
"I am sure they would have loved as much as we would for them to make a couple of hundreds and then there's nothing to talk about.
"We will be discussing other players we have had in the team over the last 12-18 months. They will get a hearing, but it will be hard to go past these three guys."
Westley assumed the No 3 position during the preceding series against South Africa following an injury to Gary Ballance - but Bayliss has not hidden his wish for England skipper Joe Root to bat in that berth.
"I would always have him at three but he is comfortable batting at four," added Bayliss of Root.
"I think he will end up at three at some stage in the future because he is by far our best player and I believe that is where your best player should be."
