George Bailey strode up to the wicket, where all could see Rameez Raja’s IPL-like sunglasses on an oppressive Dhaka day.
George smiled. He smiles a lot. He is mild mannered, and does not seem fussed by too much.
Maybe he is, but never lets us in to see.
Anyway, when quizzed why he chose to bowl first on a wicket he described as one that would have good carry, he said: “There’s no specific reason”.
Bailey doesn’t strike me as arrogant, but maybe he got caught up in Aussie arrogance.
He then made mistake number two for the afternoon.
He had unbelievable faith in his bowlers which, in reality, isn’t the greatest attack in the world, and set fields for amazing bowling.
Mitchell Starc, who is a jet but not fully match fit after an injury layoff, kept getting smashed by Umar Akmal to mid wicket.
Bailey kept a wide long on in the whole time, never putting in a regulation mid-wicket.
And when the ball did go in the air in that area, Brad Hogg dropped it.
Bailey then threw the ball to Shane Watson.
In Test matches Watson is unrelenting in line and length. In T20 he cranks the pace up a little, varies things up and hopes a hamstring or back bone doesn’t give way.
Bailey set a field like he was expecting Watson to bowl like Dale Steyn against New Zealand.
Watto proceeded to bowl three full tosses.
David Warner, Australia’s best fielder, fielded with an air of arrogance.
He slid and went to pick a ball up on the boundary only for the ball to nutmeg him into the rope.
In general, as described by Bailey, the fielding was “sloppy”.
Then we got to the batting. In what could only be described as a carnival, David Warner skipped down the track to try and meet a short ball from Zulfiqar Babar.
It was as if he was meeting Candice Falzon mid-pitch. He tried to sky a ball to long on when he could’ve stayed in his crease and pulled it.
The ball trickled to the third man boundary. Next ball, Warner tried to cut a half-volley.
Needless to say, that didn’t work.
He may be in the form of his life, and our best batsman, but really, Dave? Is there a need?
Then Watto came out like he had ‘YouTubed’ his innings from the WACA, and the Oval, and proceeded to try and hit every ball he faced into the stratosphere.
One ball got the rope. Another he hit, but to the keeper.
Australia came out like they knew what they were doing and flopped.
When Glenn Maxwell attempted a switch on his first ball at 2/8, I knew something was up.
Australia were going to go harder than ever before … and close their eyes and cross their fingers that it would come off.
It came as no surprise that we eventually lost 7/29 to lose a game we didn’t deserve to win, but probably should have.
Maxwell is an undeniable talent, and has an eye like nobody’s business, but the way he and Aaron Finch went about batting was as strange as it was breathtaking.
They literally tried to hit everything for six. Usually you see guys target the first two or three balls of an over, then knock it round, or even block.
But the two Victorians swung hard and mighty. It didn’t always come off. Sometimes it did. In the end, it was spell-bounding.
But they only had one gear. There seemed no plan other than to smash the damn thing.
Leading up to Maxwell’s dismissal, they went almost two overs without a boundary.
So Maxwell tried to buck the trend. That one gear cost him.
Finally, credit where credit is due. Mohammed Hafeez brought Ajmal on for the 18th over and it was make or break.
Australia needed 31 off the next three overs, Brad Haddin and Finch at the crease. Ajmal went around the wicket, something he hadn’t done all night. The short boundary was to the leg side.
Once Ajmal fired one in wide of off stump on his first ball, it was clear what his plan was.
Fast and wide of off stump, trying to get the Australians to drag the ball to leg, or fire one full and fast at the stumps, allowing them no leverage.
Ajmal bowled an amazing over under pressure, but the Australian batsmen were silly.
They swung like they were the best batsmen ever. When they could’ve cut or driven into the offside, they still tried to find the short boundary time and time again.
Australia lost Finch and his leg stump, and the over went for one run. Game over.
Confidence is one thing, arrogance another.
Col in paradise
Guest
Bat first and use their brains....if it wasnt arrogance it was pretty stupid cricket...they under estimated Pakistan which is a very good team..we got what we deserved
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
They were chasing 191, I'd never blame them for going hard at it in the first 10 overs, what else would you have them do?
Paul Callings
Guest
Good article. George Baileys captaincy was crummy, he played a woeful innings for the game situation and his inability to put pressure on the spin bowlers showed me again he is a flat track bully when the ball is comming onto him and can afford to hit across the line. He showed he is completely out of his depth in working the ball around against class slow bowlers. Cameron White does a far better job as does Brad Hodge. Not batting first in our first game of the T20 on a dead pitch was a fatal mistake when our bowling is our weakness. When George starts smiling in a press conference after our likely T20 exit in the comming week I am sure Ian Chappell would like to make a comment on the worst captaincy display for many years. It was a howler of a game for Bailey and went unnoticed in the media. Our only hope for the semis is that the Packies get a better offer from the bookies to throw a few games then compete. Watching the way SA nearly threw the game away against the Netherlands tonight had my cynical side feeling this T20 tournament is about sports gambling and micro betting. Cricket had been down this road before and with the Hansie and Bob Wolmer murder mysteries and the plethora of sub-continent players with strong links to betting syndicates via sponsorship ties via the IPL expect the unexpected.