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There were several questions before the Australian team at the start of the Ashes. One of them was whether George Bailey deserved to be in the Test side or not?
There were some who sided with him while most were against him.
And now with what he has done in the Ashes those voices against him will surely grow louder with new voices adding to the decibel.
However the fact of the matter is that it would be too early to drop him. His stats say that he scored 183 runs at an average of 26.14. But that by itself is no reason to drop a newcomer. Other factors need to be considered also.
And one of these factors is his performance in ODIs. A resume which shows 1,539 runs scored at an average of 54.96 and at a strike rate of 92.32 surely is not a bad one.
This is in addition to the fact that he is the captain of the side too.
One more thing is that there have been other players in the team who have been given an extended run. The argument in their favour that they have earned that right on the basis of past performance also does not ice. In fact it is a youngster who deserves more opportunities.
The third thing is that it is now pretty much sure that the first five positions in the batting line-up are more or less fixed though I am still not sure over Watson’s place in the side.
At number six it is always good to have an attacking batsman rather than one who crafts his innings. Bailey fits the bill perfectly. The way he belted Anderson for 28 just proves that.
One look in the history books would tell that not all players who went on to become greats started with a bang.
Steve Waugh took a long time before he finally settled into the team. Sachin Tendulkar scored his first hundred in his ninth Test.
Also it is not necessary to look only at the greats. George Bailey may not become a great. But he has the potential to be a very good Test player.
Marvan Atapattu was one player who started with five ducks and yet went on to have a fairly decent career.
At a time when the team is doing well it is better to stick with the winning combination.
Even in a 5-0 whitewash of an opponent it is not necessary that all players will succeed. There are bound to be failures. It is just that this time George Bailey was that odd failure.
Also even though the batsmen did reasonably well the fact remains that had it not been for Haddin the story could well have been different than what it turned out to be.
The fact that a number 7’s batting has had such an impact is a matter which needs introspection from the entire batting line-up and not just one player.
Finally a tour of South Africa against the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander will be a learning experience for all these guys. So let this young man also get the chance to learn.
My vote surely is for George Bailey.
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