DAVID KELSO
SCOTLAND World Cup skipper Craig Wright believes Sri Lankan cricket bosses have pulled off a masterstroke by picking Trevor Bayliss as their new national head coach.
Bayliss has taken the reins of the tournament finalists from Australian compatriot Tom Moody. And Wright was first in the queue to endorse the surprise appointment of the man who helped to launch his own international career.
Bayliss, who has enjoyed success in charge of New South Wales, was club pro at West of Scotland in the early 1990s when Wright was breaking into the first-team scene at Hamilton Crescent. The pair kept in close touch and the Scot spent some time playing for top NSW up-country side Penrith, where Bayliss was captain-cum-coach.
Wright said: "Signing up Trevor is undoubtedly a major coup for the Sri Lankan authorities. They could not have chosen a better guy for the job. It is nice to think that he effectively began his coaching career in Glasgow and has ended up in charge of one of the top teams in the world.
"I was still attending Kelvinside Academy and on the fringes of the senior side when Trevor came over to Partick as professional - and that label summed him up perfectly. He was a fantastic batsman, notching more than 1000 runs in one of his seasons here, a more than useful bowler and a tremendous fielder.
"But more than anything else he was - and is - a really nice guy. He had the natural talent of being an excellent man-manager - but also showed a ruthless streak when he had to, which is a typical Aussie sporting attribute."
SCOTLAND World Cup skipper Craig Wright believes Sri Lankan cricket bosses have pulled off a masterstroke by picking Trevor Bayliss as their new national head coach.
Bayliss has taken the reins of the tournament finalists from Australian compatriot Tom Moody. And Wright was first in the queue to endorse the surprise appointment of the man who helped to launch his own international career.
Bayliss, who has enjoyed success in charge of New South Wales, was club pro at West of Scotland in the early 1990s when Wright was breaking into the first-team scene at Hamilton Crescent. The pair kept in close touch and the Scot spent some time playing for top NSW up-country side Penrith, where Bayliss was captain-cum-coach.
Wright said: "Signing up Trevor is undoubtedly a major coup for the Sri Lankan authorities. They could not have chosen a better guy for the job. It is nice to think that he effectively began his coaching career in Glasgow and has ended up in charge of one of the top teams in the world.
"I was still attending Kelvinside Academy and on the fringes of the senior side when Trevor came over to Partick as professional - and that label summed him up perfectly. He was a fantastic batsman, notching more than 1000 runs in one of his seasons here, a more than useful bowler and a tremendous fielder.
"But more than anything else he was - and is - a really nice guy. He had the natural talent of being an excellent man-manager - but also showed a ruthless streak when he had to, which is a typical Aussie sporting attribute."
