Handling criticism will never be an issue, affirms George Bailey
Australia's new selector George Bailey has stated that he is ready to have tough conversations and is not worried about the criticisms that might come his way. The Tasmania star, who will retire at the end of the season, also plans to use the coming two months to do some reconnaissance on the role.
Cricket Australia, on Wednesday, confirmed that Bailey will be the third national selector alongside chairman Trevor Hohns and Justin Langer. Bailey, 37, is currently still playing domestic cricket and will begin his tenure as a full-time selector in early February when he retires from all forms of cricket after the Big Bash League. As a part of his role, he has to take a call on the national careers of his Tasmania team-mates Tim Paine and Matthew Wade. But Bailey is ready to have a difficult conversation if required.
"I'm certainly going in with eyes wide open to the fact that there are difficult conversations that will be had. Those two, in particular, I think it's all just about being honest. It certainly won't be my decision and my decision alone and like any player, you work through those things, hopefully together, but at the appropriate times," Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"I feel like I'm a servant to the players and every player, or certainly the majority of the players playing first-class cricket, their dream is to play cricket for Australia. My job is to select the lucky few that get the opportunity to do that. But you're also trying to help those that are not quite in the mix, giving them some help and advice as to how you think they can get there and also the guys that have had the opportunity and then find themselves back out of the team, you're trying to help them out to get them back into that team."
"Have you seen the way I stand to face up to face a cricket ball? I'm happy to cop a little bit of criticism. That won't be any concern. Who should and shouldn't be in the Australian cricket team is always a hot topic of conversation, which is great. There will be a lot of people whose advice I think is important, and there'll be a lot that won't," Bailey added.
The former Australian skipper has been named in Tasmania's Sheffield Shield squad that will take on Queensland in Hobart starting on Friday and the batsman will be available for Tasmania's last match before the BBL break against South Australia. While the possibility of a farewell game is huge, Bailey is adamant that he does not want a farewell game if he is not in Tasmania's best XI. The two months that he has in his hands before taking over the role as Australian national selector would also give him the time to weigh various responsibilities that come with being an Australian selector.
"I'll use that time to talk to coaches and players and high-performance staff about what that might look like and what players' expectations are, what coaches' expectations are. My perspective has been one of player for many, many years and I've got some clear thoughts on what that's been like and what players feel like but learning what it looks like from the other side of the fence will be important.
"It seems to be that communication pops up a lot, which I think is one that can be easily fixed or understood. How much players want, how much stakeholders want, coaches, whether there's an expectation that players who aren't necessarily in and around the team still want a little bit more feedback."
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