- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
When George Bailey was dropped from the Test side at the start of this year, it seemed that would likely be his first and last chance in the baggy green. However, Bailey himself clearly doesn’t agree with that assumption.
The 32-year-old recently stepped down as Australia’s T20 captain. He did so for two reasons. Firstly, he sought more time to prepare for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Secondly, he wanted to be available to play more first-class cricket in an effort to force his way back into the Test team.
This summer’s fixture means that if Bailey was involved in all of Australia’s T20 games he might only have been able to play two Sheffield Shield matches for Tasmania.
Having won his way into the Test line-up last summer on the back of limited overs performances, and then failed, Bailey needs to pile up first-class runs to be any hope of a Test comeback.
Australia’s line-up is as settled as it has been for years after back-to-back series victories over England and then South Africa. But with Tasmanian batsman Alex Doolan yet to bed down his spot, and Shane Watson a match-to-match proposition because of his fragile body, opportunities could arise in the near future.
Aside from prolific South Australian opener Phil Hughes, no other specialist batsman has made a robust case for inclusion in the Test team this summer, and Bailey manifestly sees a chance to reignite his Test career.
“I know I was picked out of one-day cricket for my last opportunity to play Test cricket and I don’t think that would happen again,” he said recently.
“I think the only way is through Sheffield Shield or first-class runs. The best chance for me to do that is to play as many Shield games as I can.”
Bailey will have to produce a startling turnaround in his Shield returns after labouring the past two seasons. That pair of Shield campaigns saw him register a meagre 476 runs at an average of 24 from 11 games.
One thing not in Bailey’s favour is that one of his biggest supporters is no longer on the Australian selection panel. Former chairman of selectors John Inverarity showed during his reign that he rated Bailey highly.
He oversaw Bailey’s shock ascension to the T20 captaincy despite never having played an international match to that point. Inverarity was also chairman when Bailey was introduced to the Test side last summer.
But the new selection panel, chaired by Rod Marsh and including Mark Waugh, former chairman Trevor Hohns and national coach Darren Lehmann, has already shown it plans to invest in youth. They included young all-rounders Mitch Marsh and Glenn Maxwell in Australia’s 15-man squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan starting next week.
Australia have a clutch of gifted emerging batsmen in Tasmanian opener Jordan Silk, Queensland strokemaker Chris Lynn, New South Wales bludgeoner Nic Maddinson, NSW opener Ryan Carters, Queensland top order player Joe Burns and South Australia first drop Travis Head.
But, aside from Lynn who will miss a chunk of this summer due to injury, all of those batsmen would benefit from at least one more Shield season before being exposed to Test cricket.
So there is an ever so slight opening for Bailey to leverage his way back into the Test XI in the next six to nine months. However, that will require an avalanche of Shield runs and perhaps also a decent portion of luck.