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Australia smash England in Cup opener, but there's one sour note

14th February, 2015
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George Bailey should be given another shot. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
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14th February, 2015
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If smashing England by 111 runs weren’t good news enough, Australia’s opening game of this home World Cup offered some more specific cheer.

Such slight question marks as might have existed over Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh were answered with emphatic performances. Awkwardly though, an equally good day for captain George Bailey only emphasised Australia’s chief remaining concern: the instability surrounding captain-in-waiting Michael Clarke.

Opening batsman Finch has stayed under the radar in his two years in the team, and before the tournament some on The Roar have questioned whether his place was secure given his tendency to either score high or very low.

He almost went low against England on Saturday afternoon, dropped by Chris Woakes in the first over. Having put that behind him, though, he kicked off his World Cup with his second-highest One-Day International score. In the last 18 months he now has six centuries, a 96, and five other half-centuries, at an average of nearly 45.

Finch’s 135 from 128 balls took him through to the 37th over, with some typically meaty shots through the field and over the rope. There’s not much subtlety to a Finch innings but he gets the job done. In fact, alongside his more famous opening partner, Finch has out-Warnered David Warner.

Despite 13 fewer innings, he’s hit as many sixes and twice as many centuries at a better average and a better strike rate. One more game like this and Finch would match Warner’s career run tally.

Equally pleasing for Australia was the way Maxwell iced the innings, playing himself in before creaming 66 from 40 balls, with 11 fours but not one six on the expansive MCG. His shots were clean but controlled. It was innings of balance for Maxwell, showing he’s developing as a player.

“He’s playing smart cricket,” said Finch wryly after the match, “which can’t always be said for his game at times. I think that he would say that there’s times when he makes poor choices. But over the last little while, he’s made some great choices.”

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Ok, sure, he may have played a reverse sweep for four from his third ball. But he keeps telling us it’s just an ordinary shot for him. As Justin McLean messaged me on Twitter, someone probably told him to just go out there and bat like it was a Test match.

Finally, most around the team will be relieved to see Marsh take a few international wickets. Before this game he had one wicket from seven Test innings, and his career ODI figures read 57-1-290-6. Across all international innings he’s gone wicketless 16 times out of 24. But in nine additional overs at the MCG he swelled his tally by five wickets for 33 runs.

He can thank good fortune as much good bowling: Steve Smith took one of the catches of his career when Jos Buttler smashed to short cover, Eoin Morgan got a bizarre toe-end nick to be caught behind, and Ian Bell slogged to deep midwicket. But Marsh’s confidence will be improved nonetheless.

This leaves the captaincy conundrum as Australia’s only point of instability. Bailey helped add 158 runs in scoring 55, stabilising the innings from a vulnerable early position to the point where Maxwell was able to take them home. He oversaw a resounding win. Yet with Clarke supposed to resume command next match, the spot he’ll almost certainly take is Bailey’s.

“George played beautifully,” said Finch in tacit support.

“Coming in at 3 for 70 on the back of three pretty quick wickets, it wasn’t easy. They had their tail up, and for him to battle through a period early where they bowled excellent at him, that showed what a class player he actually is, which I don’t think he gets a lot of credit for at times.”

Not getting respect is more the issue: Cricket Australia and its selectors have sold Bailey down the river. With the all-round structure of the team, there are only two middle-order batting spots, and Steve Smith is in the form of his life.

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Of Australia’s last 30 ODIs dating back 18 months, Clarke has started in six and finished four. Bailey has captained 24 full games and two injury-blighted halves. Yet Clarke is apparently an automatic selection, landing Bailey with the indignity of turning up to captain’s press conferences to joke and smile about his own imminent dropping.

“We’re all professionals,” said Finch. “We know that 15 don’t go into 11… you can pull a few names out of a hat and I’m sure that you could justify it some way.”

Unfortunately the selectors’ approach hasn’t been much more sophisticated. On a night that otherwise hit all the right notes, it remained the one enduring discord.

This article was first published in Wisden India

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