Former ODI and T20I captain, George Bailey is set to join as the third member of the national selection panel alongside head coach Justin Langer and Trevor Hohns.
The middle-order batsman is highly rated for his tactical acumen and was famously named the captain of the national side on his T20I debut.
Bailey is still active in domestic cricket and represents Tasmania. The 37-year-old also plays in the Big Bash League for Hobart Hurricanes. He will replace Greg Chappell in the selection panel who stepped down from his position at the end of the recently concluded Ashes series.
Cricket Australia had earlier considered former head coach Darren Lehman for the job but decided on going with a current player for some fresh perspective. Top-order batsman Michael Klinger and Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd were the others considered for the job.
“I’m really pleased with the people who put their hat in the ring for that role,” CA’s head of national teams Ben Oliver said on Monday. “There will be some people who are really disappointed no doubt [at missing out on the role] but they should all take great encouragement and they all have a lot to offer. Really looking forward to getting to the end of that process. Not quite there yet, but we’re not far away.
“The panel, and all three, will be responsible for all Australian men’s teams. What we’ve tried to achieve in this recruitment process is adding in some complementary skills to support Trevor and Justin, and one of those is a consideration around short-format cricket.”
Australian captain Tim Paine who plays for the same domestic team as Bailey also vouched for his appointment.
“In last week’s Shield game he was batting at five, I was batting at seven, so we were both sitting in the change rooms and set up a mock interview,” Paine told ABC radio. “He’s ready to go, so hopefully he gets the nod, I think he’d be ideal.”
Australia captain @tdpaine36 told Grandstand he thinks George Bailey would be the "ideal" choice for the vacant national selector role.
— ABC Grandstand (@abcgrandstand) November 22, 2019
Paine says he helped stage a mock interview with Bailey during a Shield game!
Full interview soon https://t.co/gEKbY009Z1 #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/AnHr1IO0ol
The 37-year-old Bailey assured that he would be unbiased and would restrain from picking himself for the national team.
