While his sparkling form in the one-day form of the game certainly brings him to the fore of selection discussions, calls for George Bailey to be a certain starter for the first Ashes Test are extremely premature.
Bailey will have many keen eyes pointed in his direction upon his return to Australia, but the job is only partially done.
His average of 18 in last season’s Shield competition is abysmal. Bellerive Oval was a very difficult pitch to bat on last year, but to say that absolves Bailey of such a poor record is beyond generous.
Not every game in the Shield season is a Tasmanian home game.
In addition to that Ricky Ponting, Mark Cosgrove and Alex Doolan, teammates of Bailey, were the top three run-scorers for the competition, with averages of 75.91, 39.2 and 42.05 respectively. Jordan Silk averaged 57.83.
With players around him plundering runs, Bailey’s sub-20 average should be viewed as unimpressive and inadequate.
It is a very, very big assumption that Bailey would have scored runs if the pitch was a little bit more batsman-friendly.
The fact of the matter is those long-form runs are not on the board. We can’t just pencil them in and say they would have happened if the wicket was easier to bat on, especially when batsmen around him were scoring freely enough.
That isn’t to say Bailey is completely out of the picture. He’s got his foot in the door for now. He will have up to six innings in the Shield before the first Ashes Test to prove that his rich vein of form will extend into the longest form of cricket.
But if he cannot make a mark in the opening of the Shield, it would be an injustice to those making long-form runs to pick him.
It further damages the struggling competition if Bailey can cruise into the team on one-day runs while those scoring runs in the premier domestic competition and who have done so for many seasons, are overlooked once again.
The ball is in George’s court now, and the position is his to take. I would be pleased to see him progress into the Test side, but I believe it should be with a firm grip on the Sheffield Shield run-scorers table.
Twitter: The_Hoss12
jassi
Guest
Ha,Ha deccas ! I have been wondering about these 2 guys and how they make similar posts always about how good khawaja is and this and that. Now this intenD convinces me what I have always thought that they are one and the same person with 2 fake id's.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Marsh is far from a class player. He is almost 30 and still has only managed to get his FC average up to 35 or so and done worse in recent years than previously. The one thing he has going for him is that on the rare occasions he does score runs he tends to look really good doing it, and everyone thinks he's a class player who's just coming good, but then he goes back to nothing for ages. If the WA team wasn't so incredibly weak at the moment he'd be struggling to hold his spot there. Shouldn't remotely be considered for the test team. One of those players who seems to have immense talent but completely fails to ever realise it. And carrying him in the test side for a longer period of time is not going to make him realise it.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The selectors did have the forsight. They picked an ODI squad for India packed with ODI specialists who should really be no chance of selection for the Ashes, with the only real exceptions being Watson and Clarke before pulling out with his back injury who are certain starters. None of the guys in India, Bailey included, have shown any first class form to suggest they should be considered for the test squad, so to pick them for the ODI tour of India while leaving home all the guys who are worth considering for the first test was actually very good foresight by the selectors.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Though, as was pointed out in this article, that was the same home pitch Ponting averaged 75. So averaging 18 is pretty bad. The big issue is that Bailey's current one day stretch of form is measured back through the one day matches last summer. The very summer he was averaging 18 in the Sheffield Shield. This shows that while he was able to show good form in ODIs he could simultaneously suck in first class cricket. That alone should be a big enough red flag to say that he must show form against the red ball to even remotely be considered.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
They weren't roads at Bankstown, just North Sydney.
ak
Roar Guru
The problem is that players are picked either on their past performances or with an eye on future. Spare a thought for present.
Deccas
Guest
intent*
Bearfax
Guest
Difficult one that Ed. I think Burns will be the better player but is he the better player right now. Anyway I would at this stage pick neither, when there are others with better credentials at this stage. Burns worries a little because though very talented, he has been off the boil for well over a year. Hope he gets his mojo back.
Ed Lamb
Guest
Age of 31 v 24? Irrelevant...pick the better player...
Bearfax
Guest
Marsh had a 'great short test career'? He scored 180 odd and then an 80 and then averaged 9 in his next 9 innings. Dont suggest it was coming back from injury that stopped him. They worked him out. He's a classy baseball type cricketer, well suited to one day matches. But he's not in the top 10-20 batsmen in the longer form of the game, averaging only 35 in first class cricket. Matthew Wade averages a lot better than him and is deemed a wicket keeper.
Selector
Guest
Marsh is a class player. He actually had a great short test career till he came back prematurely from a bad injury against India and it was a disaster which ruined his average. He is 30 and is coming into his prime. Bailey is a lower middle order batsmen and Maxwell is a no.7 for Victoria, so they would not competing with Marsh for a place. In first class cricket - Finch averages 29 and has never had a breakout season in the long game, either has Bailey but with an average of 39 and his experience in the short game as Australian captain deserves to be next in line.
Praveen
Guest
Well said Manoj, his intend in using his feet to the spinners is good
ak
Roar Guru
Why Marsh? He too looked so out of sorts during his short international career till date. Bailey, Finch and Maxwell are better choices on form.
Selector
Guest
If Bailey was to make the team it would be at no.6 so it could be a straight up choice between those two. It depends on what you want from your number 6 - Warner could play a game changing role like Gilchrist did at 7 whereas Bailey could play like Steve Waugh and bat through with the tail. I like Bailey as a cricketer and could add steel to the lower order, though in reality the lower order is scored better than the top order in England. The current Test team is inadequate and we should be looking at players who I feel were thrown away too quickly or moved into the wrong positions. We also have too many injured players such as Starc, Pattinson and Cummins. For the first test in Brisbane I would have: Hughes, Watson, Marsh, Clarke, Smith, Warner or Bailey, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle, Ryan, Lyon. Hughes is an opener and Watson is happiest there - let them bat. It is tough for Rogers but he is not the answer on fast bouncy Australian pitches. Shaun Marsh is the best batsman in Australia after Clarke, it's folly that we continue to not select him. Class prevails and if given a run in the side he will live up to that billing. The bowling is a little weak. I think Siddle bowls in patches, Ryan is injury prone and if Johnson starts poorly then we are in trouble. That said, if they fire then they are the first choice bowling unit. England are a better side than us and cannot imagine them losing but think we could win a test and potentially jag a drawn series.
Bearfax
Guest
Your comment is probably justified at this particular moment. But Bailey is going through a purple patch yet has a first class average of 38. Burns is going through a bad patch but still has a first class average of 39.5. Bailey is over 30, Burns is just on 24. I know who I would be putting my money on in the next few years to make good and that's not bias. Its just plain statistics and a gauging of potential based on age..
expathack
Guest
"And was not god in the early ryobi games" Just so I've got this straight, you discount Bailey's international ODI form where he's scored 50 or more in 11 of his 29 innings so far. But then say he wasn't that good in a couple of Ryobi games so shouldn't play tests? Because domestic limited overs performances are a far better of performance than actual international games? Riiigggghhhtttt.
expathack
Guest
Burns? As in Joe Burns? The same Joe Burns thats currently not good enough to play for Queensland? That Joe Burns? You want him to play Test match cricket for Australia ahead of George Bailey? The unthinking bias and loyalty some of you you guy show against and for some players is astonishing at times.
Hossey
Roar Guru
The big FC score is what I'm after, personally. The position is really his to lose. He's only got one more hurdle to jump, and that is really putting a stamp on any Shield innings' he gets.
Manoj
Guest
He is no Paul Collingwood
Manoj
Guest
He can play spin fine mate, if you guys stop the cheap shots on him and actually watch him bat he got caught hitting a six on the long off boundary which is the longest boundary on that ground I like the intend by him and usage of the feet which is what we want to see. Some folks however just want to see the guy fail and will have a cheap go on him. Hughes has much bigger issues against spin then he does as does Cowan.