England stick to winning squad

England have retained the same 13-man squad for the second Test against Australia at Lord’s after going 1-0 up in the Ashes.

The hosts prevailed by 169 runs in Cardiff, and the victorious XI will be joined again by Steven Finn and Adil Rashid as extra bowling options for the second match of five, which begins on Thursday.

New coach Trevor Bayliss has started with an emphatic win after taking up his role at the end of last month – but the Australian is warning of a response from his compatriots.

Bayliss was also unsurprisingly impressed by England’s first performance of his tenure and in particular the leadership of Alastair Cook.

“I thought his captaincy was top-notch,” he said.

“But the boys are very much aware that, when you beat Australia, then the next match is going to be even tougher.

“They’ll come back hard – we know that – and there’s still a long way to go in this series.

“To win it, we’ll have to play some very good cricket.”

England will nonetheless be rightly encouraged by their opening success, in a match featuring a first-innings century from Joe Root – a contribution which has helped the Yorkshireman move into the top five in the International Cricket Council rankings for the first time.

Bayliss added: “Any win is a fantastic feeling.

“When there’s a win, the dressing room is full of excitement and confidence – and certainly the England boys are no different.”

He is not about to claim personal credit, though.

Asked if he believes he has had a big influence already on England’s improvement, he said: “No, not really.

“I think they’ve been heading in the right direction – especially over the last series against New Zealand – and I’m very lucky to come in at this time.

“The boys are interested in playing good, attacking cricket, their own natural games – and the job that Alastair did in this match was fantastic.”

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