Trevor Bayliss left his role at London Spirit in the Hundred after his men’s team finished bottom in 2024. Bayliss replaced the late Shane Warne as men’s coach ahead of the 2022 season, when Eoin Morgan captained them to the play-offs, but His team has won only three games and lost 11 in the last two years since Morgan’s retirement.
Bayliss’ team were particularly poor in 2024, losing seven of their eight matches with a tough three-wicket win over Welsh Fire the only exception. Their top draft picks, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell, managed 216 runs between them, and Dan Lawrence couldn’t get them out of the rut as captain.
The Spirit’s problems in the men’s Hundred were only accentuated by the success of their women’s team, which won the title for the first time with Heather Knight and Ashley Noffke. Noffke has since signed an extension for the 2025 edition, although he lost his assistant Ali Maiden to Birmingham Phoenix.
“We would all like to thank Trevor for his considerable efforts over the past three seasons,” Fraser Stewart, London Spirit general manager and MCC head of cricket, said in a statement. “He initially joined us under difficult circumstances and led the team to a strong finish in 2022, but the team has been unable to replicate that success since.
“As a group we are desperate to see London Spirit compete at the right end of the table and believe a new approach may be beneficial to our chances. Trevor leaves Lord’s with our best wishes and gratitude.”
Bayliss’s stock has fallen as a coach of late, five years after his England team’s 50-over World Cup triumph in 2019. He was replaced as Punjab Kings coach by Ricky Ponting earlier this year, although he has been retained as coach of Sydney Thunder for the upcoming Big Bash League season despite overseeing their last role in 2023-24.
London Spirit have already announced Bayliss’ replacement, with a first round deadline of December 11. James Foster and Paul Collingwood are both potential candidates, having spent time working with Bayliss as assistant coaches, and an appointment appears likely to occur before the completion of Hundred’s ongoing sales process.
The second round deadline for bids from private investors (for 49% of the stakes in the Hundred’s eight teams) is December 9, with London Spirit expected to attract the highest bids. Bidders interested in the Spirit are understood to include at least two IPL franchises in Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, as well as Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer.
