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Alastair Cook captaincy 'fantastic' - Trevor Bayliss

Alastair Cook's captaincy during the first Ashes Test against Australia was "top notch", according to England coach Trevor Bayliss.

Alastair Cook captaincy 'fantastic' - Trevor Bayliss

Alastair Cook's captaincy during the first Ashes Test against Australia was "top notch", according to England coach Trevor Bayliss.

Cook's leadership has previously been questioned, but he received praise after England's 169-run win at Cardiff.

Bayliss, who was named England coach in May, was the latest to add to the plaudits after the huge first Test victory.

"His captaincy in this game was fantastic," Bayliss said.

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"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."

Bayliss expects a response from Australia in the second Test, which starts at Lord's on Thursday.

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Darren Lehmann's side are looking to hit back after the heavy loss and the coach is expected to make changes, unlike England.

"They will be hurting. They do not like losing, Bayliss said.

"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 enough of their batters showed enough to prove they will be dangerous. They got starts. They are not far off making big scores, so we have to be on our game to win more matches now."

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