Bailey to play Tasmania's Shield game at Gabba

George Bailey had an excellent outing in India

George Bailey, who has had a good one-day series in India, is keen to prove his worth as a long term prospect for Australia before John Inverarity names the squad for the first Ashes Test. He will be travelling to Brisbane for participating in Tasmina’s Sheffield Shield matches from November 6.

Players who took part in the ODI series in India can make their own decision on participating in the Shield round matches. And George Bailey has decided to take part for Tasmania’s opening match against the Bulls.

“I don’t think there will be any major challenges with guys getting back into first-class cricket,” Bailey said after the Bangalore defeat. “We’ve all played a lot of cricket in Australia, we know the conditions, we’re familiar with what is on offer. But you’ve just got to try and adjust really quickly.

“Obviously the format is different and the red ball offers different challenges. It’s not going to be a surprise to us, but it’s just about taking back the same sort of mindset. Certainly what I’ve been training for in the nets and working with Diva (Michael DiVenuto, batting coach) is not to be too different from one-day to four-day cricket, so hopefully that transpires.”

Bailey had a wonderful series in India, scoring several crucial knocks and helping Australia to post formidable scores that could have been defended by their bowlers. However, Ian Chappell offered a contrary view on Sydney times about George Bailey. “A selector has to look past the number of runs and see the batsmanship,” Chappell wrote in Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph. “Bailey, despite his mountain of runs in one-day cricket, is a batsman who’s restricted through the cover region, can be stifled by good spinners and is troubled by well-directed short-pitched bowling. His moderate first-class record and those limitations are not a good template for a Test batsman.

“Facing a quality England attack on bouncy Australian pitches is a far cry from what Bailey has been relishing in India. Batting on pitches that bowlers find as helpful as a Parisian asked for directions in English and against an Indian attack more benevolent than the Bill Gates Foundation, has little bearing on what’s looming at the Gabba and beyond.

“There’s also a chasm of difference between batting against a pedestrian attack hoping to contain and top-class bowling predators seeking wickets with field placings to reflect those widely varying approaches. The Australian selectors have to ignore the clamouring from a Board and a public that are desperate for victory over England and choose a combination that gives the side their best chance of winning.”