George Bailey retires from T20 internaionals

George Bailey retires from T20 internationals: Former Australian limited overs captain, George Bailey, has called time on his T20I playing career in a bid to give himself more chances to succeed in the ODI and Test formats. The decision comes after Bailey was not named in the 11-man squad to take on England at Cardiff on Monday in the one-off T20I.

Bailey, who last featured in a T20I in April 2014, took over the reigns of Australia’s T20 side from Cameron White in 2012 and led Australia to 13 wins in 27 games. Following Australia’s dismal performance in the World T20 2014, he handed over captaincy to Aaron Finch. Having played 28 T20Is for Australia since his debut against India in February 2012, Bailey finishes with 470 runs at an average of 26.11 and a strike-rate of 140.71.

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Retiring from T20 is an interesting decision from one of the elite short-form stars in world cricket, especially given Australia play so few internationals in that format. Bailey has also lost his leadership position in the one-day team, being replaced as vice-captain by David Warner following Smith’s elevation to the captaincy.

The reason why Bailey relinquished the T20 captaincy to Aaron Finch last year was so he could put more focus into Sheffield Shield cricket for Tasmania in the hope that he might get one last chance at wearing the baggy green.

Bailey will still be available for One-Day Internationals, a format in which he has enjoyed some success since his debut in March 2012 against West Indies. So far, Bailey has played in 58 ODIs, having led Australia in 29 of them.

The right hander, who has 2018 runs in ODIs at an average of 41.18 and a strike-rate of 86.23 can now aim to seal the No.4 spot in the ODI line-up, while continuing his bid for a Test comeback. The current Australian batting line-up is short on experience, with both Clarke and Chris Rogers retiring after the recent Ashes, and Bailey’s experience of 107 first-class matches coupled to his leadership abilities could come in handy.