Australian captain George Bailey feels playing alongside Michael Bevan for Tasmania in the initial phase of his domestic career taught him everything there is to be learnt about batting in one day cricket.
“Bevo was outstanding, it was excellent to play with him and got a lot playing with him,” said Bailey when asked about playing alongside one Australia’s best ODI batsmen.
Bailey has been the architect of Australian batting that has managed to score 300 in each of their first three outings in the current Indian series.
Bailey is currently the leading run scorer from both teams, with 318 runs at an average of 106.
But more than the runs Bailey has scored, it is the manner he has constructed his innings that would impress even Bevan himself.
“The main things I learnt from him were; one, he always had a plan and predominately that revolved around him in the game in terms of his role, he didn’t get bogged down too much in what he couldn’t control.
“He [Bevan] was very much focused on what he can control and he always had a plan on how the game was going to unfold and the fact that he was so planned himself.”
Bailey has certainly been able to transform each of Bevan’s theories into practice in the ongoing ODI series. Each of his innings has been paced perfectly from the start to the end. He has managed to rotate the strike against the spinners through the middle overs and also provide a late onslaught to provide the ascendency at the end.
Bailey continued his praise of Bevan ,stating, “The fact that he was so planned himself it meant he had time to look ahead. In terms of how who was going to be bowling at him.”
Noticeably, Bailey has applied the formula on India’s primary spinner Ravi Ashwin.
Bailey has rarely allowed Ashwin to settle, as illustrated by his figures in the first four matches.
Bailey has scored 74 runs off 59 balls, which compromised of three sixes, four fours, eight twos, 32 singles and, importantly, only 16 dot balls.
But despite his remarkable rise in the ODI game, Bailey still feels he is a long way away from emulating Bevan’s feats.
“I can certainly regurgitate the plan, I certainly don’t feel I am as calm as he was in the middle and unfortunately I’m still playing rash shots and rash decisions.”
Even if Bailey can execute 75% of Bevan’s ideologies, it will place him among one of the finest ODI cricketers Australia has produced.
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