George Bailey says Mitch Marsh could excel with the backing of the team

Ben Stokes is probably the most impactful player in world cricket right now. The way the allrounder and captain Eoin Morgan outplayed Australia in a virtual quarter-final showed the prowess of the England cricket team that has completely transformed in the ODI department since the 2015 World Cup debacle. Stokes has been more than as an asset for the team, excelling in all three departments, batting, bowling and fielding.

Former Australian captain George Bailey feels that Stokes has got the complete backing of his captain, which has made a huge difference. Stokes plays the way he wants to, and Morgan doesn’t have any problems with it. Bailey explained how on many occasions when Australia’s Mitchell Marsh came out to bat in Tests, the team was four wickets down already, and it is hard for a player to back himself in such situations.

“But it’s all very well to say ‘just go out and back yourself’. A lot of the time when Mitch has come to the crease in a Test match, the team has been four wickets down for not many. It’s very hard to truly back yourself in that situation because you know if you get caught at mid-off or in the deep, it’s not going to look good.

“But I can see Stokes doing just that and no one would bat an eye-lid. And that comes from earning the right to play that way and having the full backing of the team to do it,” he wrote in his column for cricket.com.au.

Bailey’s finalists for CT 2017

He also stated that he is looking forward to an India-England final because these two are the strongest teams in the tournament and the final thus will be an entertainer.

“On paper, it looks like we might have two lop-sided semi-finals and I’d really like to see England v India in the final because if they both play well, it could be an absolute beauty,” Bailey added.