George Bailey's captaincy has been helped by playing alongside Shane Warne

RUBBING shoulders with Shane Warne has helped shape George Bailey's captaincy at international level.

George Bailey

RUBBING shoulders with Shane Warne has helped shape George Bailey's captaincy at international level.

Bailey played alongside Warne - one of the best minds in the game - at the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League last summer.

Less than a month after the completion of the BBL he was thrust into the spotlight when named captain of the Australian Twenty20 outfit, despite having not made his international debut.

The Tasmanian, who guided the team to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in September-October, has always been considered one of the better leaders in the country and admitted yesterday the six week period he spent alongside Warne at the Stars was invaluable.

Shane Warne

"I don't think it is any secret he is a great thinker about the game and a great competitor,'' Bailey, who has been Tigers captain for the past four years, said at the Hobart Hurricanes season launch.

"To see that first hand and see the way he prepares himself... not only his game but how the game was going to unfold generally was a real eye opener.

In terms of T20, he is probably one of the more progressive minds on T20 in the world.

"It was great experience and he is somebody I would love to keep in touch with in terms of T20.

"His ideas and thoughts and the way he thinks about it is something that is really important in Australian cricket.''

Warne, the greatest leg-spin bowler the game has ever seen, was never offered the Australian captaincy due to a string of off-field controversies during his full-time playing days.

But Bailey, who returns home to Hobart for BBL version two and will captain the Hurricanes, has no doubt Warne's outlook on the Twenty20 format assisted him when he was plucked to lead the country despite his inexperience at the top level.

"Little bits, just in terms of the way I guess you see the game going and where you can influence the game going in the overs to come,'' he said.

"Warnie is someone who I've always thought is a bit ahead of the game, he always gives the impression _ certainly when he is bowling _ that what is about to happen he has already thought of and dealt with.

"That is something you try and take into the game, particularly the format of T20 being so important that you have to think on your feet and be prepared for any type of situation.

"That was something I really enjoyed seeing first hand.''