Ashes 2021/22: New Aussie selector George Bailey making big early impression with culture of clarity
New Aussie selector George Bailey is well aware of selection room anxieties and it’s quite clear he’s trying to minimise them for the players he now presides over.
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George Bailey has already stamped his mark as a no-nonsense Chairman of Selectors who wants to de-stress players and create a culture of clarity for the Australian team.
Most thought the Australia versus Australia A match slated for the eve of the first Test in Brisbane was going to be another selection shootout like the one that preceded the 2019 Ashes in England.
But it seems the Hunger Games school of selection is a thing of the past under Bailey, who has already declared Marcus Harris will open at the Gabba and who wants to confirm who he has in mind for the No.5 position before that practice match starting on December 1.
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Australia’s selection of big Test teams has come down to the wire on numerous occasions in recent years, including last summer against India when Joe Burns and Marcus Harris were competing for an opening spot just days out from the first Test.
The trend towards judging players on how they stand up under the microscope of a pressurised selection trial has largely been born out of a dearth of batters knocking the door down for their spot, and Bailey’s early decision-making has certainly been aided by the likes of Harris, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head dominating the start of the domestic season.
But aside from helping Marnus Labuschagne get added as a late inclusion for the 2019 Ashes, picking teams at the 11th hour hasn’t often helped and acting on the impulse of one score or one failure doesn’t necessarily paint the impression of a confident and settled line-up heading into battle.
As someone who lived a lot of his career on the periphery, Bailey is well aware of selection room anxieties and it’s quite clear he’s trying to minimise them for the players he now presides over.
“Once you’ve made that decision you want to give guys an opportunity and we know Test cricket is hard,” said Bailey.
“If you’re riding each and every innings, I think it puts players under enormous pressure, but it’s just the ying and yang of the game.
“We won’t be holding back on (naming a team). We’ll name that as soon as we’re aware of exactly how everyone is tracking.”
Bailey’s approach might have taken the fun and games out of the Ashes build-up, with precious little selection fodder to keep us all going, but it may only strengthen the self-belief of an Australian team already on a high from the World Cup.
Players like to know where they stand, and Bailey’s lack of interest in perpetuating any sort of selection mystery is a good sign for the mindset of Australia.
Khawaja sets record straight ... again ... over ‘weird’ game
Usman Khawaja returns to international cricket insisting his relationship with coach Justin Langer is “great’’ despite the fact many common punters tell him it’s not.
Khawaja is back in the Test squad after a two-year absence, inevitably shining a spotlight on his intriguing relationship with Langer.
Khawaja is locked in a battle with Travis Head for the No 5 batting spot and Head will be a difficult man to get in front of.
Amazon Prime’s Test documentary of the 2019 Ashes showed Khawaja telling Langer players were “intimidated’’ by him and “walking on eggshells’’ around him.
But their relationship took a turn for the better when Khawaja backed Langer in his recent cold war with the players and castigated players for talking behind his back.
“My relationship with JL has always been great,’’ Khawaja said.
“I always find it weird (when people say) JL hates you’. It is probably furthest from the truth. We talk and text. We get along fine. I have always been open and honest. I have never shied from the truth.
“You get an insight from the Ashes documentary but you don’t get the whole view either. You get bits and pieces.’’
Khawaja, who turns 35 in December, feels that riding the highs and lows of his trade has conditioned him to take his elevation in his stride.
“I have been on both sides of the spectrum. I have been in the Australian team and had contracts. I have been dropped. When you are a bit younger you hold on to those things more tightly.
“The last couple of years I have been playing for Queensland and have not had a contract for Australia. I’ve just enjoyed state cricket. I have enjoyed both sides of the fence.
“I won’t be able to play cricket forever so I am enjoying playing any level.’’
Khawaja is a proud batsman but the first concession he had to make to improve himself was to be prepared to “look like an idiot.’’
That was in the nets as part of a two-year project to perfect the reverse sweep.
He got there eventually but, as he says, there were plenty of skies and skews and humbling, pride-swallowing moments in the nets along the way.
Khawaja may have been out of the Test team since the 2019 Ashes tour but he has never stood still and he has been quietly refining his game.
Khawaja brings an interesting dynamic to the team because he is very much his own man with strong independent views.
If his Test comeback gains momentum he could be an important aide for Test captain-in-waiting Pat Cummins given his experience.
By his own admission Khawaja does not like talking about what he is improving on because it gives opponents a look inside his mind, but better footwork and more scoring options against spin has been a priority.
Khawaja never had a grand plan to snatch back his Test place (“It’s not as if I’ve had a poster of Australia on my wall’’) but time out of the spotlight has enabled him to tune in game for Queensland to the point where he is jostling for a Test recall in the same month as his 35th birthday.
As much as he has tinkered with his game against spin, tightness against the moving ball has been the clincher.
In recent seasons the selectors have deep dived into their analysis of his game and found data which showed them he needed to improve against the game’s best swingmen.
They were worried about a particular zone where they felt he would fence at the ball with limited footwork.
Khawaja’s game has recently been as tight as it has been in terms of the shots he is not playing against dangerous swing bowling of the likes that Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad dish up at the Gabba.
In scoring 70 for Queensland against Western Australia last week on a green deck against a swinging ball, Khawaja kept his bat close to or even inside his pad with exceptional discipline and refused to follow the ball.
One players to watch in the Test squad is Jhye Richardson, the West Australian quick who bowled as well at the Gabba last week as any fast man has for years.
He is the most underrated player in the country and a very hard man to leave out of any side he is eligible for.
With pace and swing and general life, he was quite superb at the Gabba.
Richardson has only played two Tests but he has the potential to be a 50-Test star for Australia if his body stays sound.
At age 25 he should be coming in to his prime. Watch this space.
ASHES LEGEND PUSHES FOR MARSH TEST RE-CALL
Usman Khawaja is set for a stunning comeback to the Test match arena, as Australian selectors resist Ian Botham’s calls to pick Mitchell Marsh.
Australia will name its Ashes squad for the Gabba on Wednesday with Marsh named for Australia A as a challenger pushing for a place against England later in the series.
However, Cameron Green is locked in as the all-rounder for the first Test in Brisbane, with Khawaja set to be picked for the Test squad for the first time since playing on the 2019 Ashes.
Travis Head is also in strong contention to be picked for the squad, with the pair likely headed for a shootout for the vacant No. 5 position when the Australian and Australia A squads meet for an intra-squad practice match on December 1 in Brisbane.
Khawaja has been in superb form for Queensland, making two hundreds and a heavy-duty 70 against a high quality West Australian attack.
Head also started the domestic season in brilliant form, but has missed out on a score in his past few innings.
The ultimate decision comes down to a choice between the experience of Khawaja and the more future thinking selection of Head.
Marsh’s career-defining 77 not out in the World Cup final has catapulted him into the Ashes frame, and Botham believes he has become almost irresistible for Australia.
Former Australian great Brad Haddin last week said selectors should look at moving Green at No. 5 to fit in Marsh at No. 6 in what would give Tim Paine the most versatile bowling arsenal he’s ever had at his disposal.
That won’t happen for the first Test at least, with Marsh lining up for Australia A – however, a big performance would put him firmly in the frame for later in the series.
Botham said it has always been Marsh’s body rather than skill holding him back, and admits if push comes to shove, he would have had Marsh ahead of Green for the first Test.
“I think he’s been very unlucky with injuries. He seems to get niggly injuries at the worst moment, but a guy who has ability like he has is always an asset. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start,” said Botham, who is already in Australia to head up Channel 7’s Ashes commentary team for all five Tests.
“I feel a bit sorry for Mitch, he came along with all this expectation a few years ago but he just seems to have been plagued with soft tissue injuries, which is disconcerting for him and has slowed his progress down. But if he’s fit and strong and cricket fit then I think yeah, I’d be expecting them to play him.
“I would think you’d go with the man of the moment because of form and confidence which he will have from that innings the other day.”
Botham believes England are capable of an enormous upset on Australian soil, despite the confidence boost the World Cup has provided.
“I’m a little surprised the bookies over here seem to think Australia is going to walk it in,” said Botham.
“I’ll just remind them that they said that in 1986/87 as well.”
Tim Michell is joined by cricket journos Ben Horne and Robert ‘Crash’ Craddock to review Australia’s World T20 win over New Zealand and discuss what it means for The Ashes.
Australian selectors will name a squad on Wednesday as well as extra Australia A players.
National Selector George Bailey has already given a strong indication that Marcus Harris will be David Warner’s opening partner, leaving the No. 5 position the only one up for grabs with Khawaja and Head battling it out.
Nic Maddinson and Josh Phillipe are set to get a crack at pushing for a middle-order debut for the Ashes by getting picked for Australia A
Former Test captain Michael Clarke said his only concern about Australia’s first Test preparations is the lack of miles in the legs for the fast bowlers.
Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have all been competing at the Twenty20 World Cup and won’t have any red ball preparations other than the Australia v Australia intra game on December 1.
West Australian star Jhye Richardson remains a massive chance of playing at the Gabba, having dominated Queensland at the venue in Sheffield Shield cricket last week.
“All our bowlers have been playing four over cricket. Is there enough time to get those three (Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood) enough workload into them to pick all three for the first Test?” said Clarke.
“That’s the only issue we have right now. But in regards to confidence they’ll be ready to go.”
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