George Bailey

Uh, he's no stranger to batting at number three, and yet now he's-- hasn't been chosen in this test squad, and he hasn't been chosen in the A Squad, which means that, what is he, 14th or 15th best batsman in Australia now? It just seems like a really, really strange decision not to pick him in one of those squads.

So I haven't seen anything where his name was brought up to George Bailey, and George Bailey actually covered why or why he wasn't chosen.

Uh, it may have occurred, but I haven't seen or read of it anywhere, and I just think it seems very, very strange.

The opportunity to pick a guy who's obviously batted at three for his state and done well in the past, he should've been the guy that went.

Uh, [chuckles] so we can move on from that.

So they've, they've taken Labuschagne, and the two spare batters are Josh Inglis, who's the wicket keeper as well, and Cooper Connolly, who has all-round tendencies, though he hasn't bowled for most of this year because of a bad back.

Uh, George Bailey did say that he will need to do some more bowling, because if he is selected, then he'll be utilizing that as well.

To me, and I think I've said this about his selection in the One Day team, I think he needs to be picked at, at five or six and given that opportunity to build his career rather than chuck him in at the top of the order again or at number three in the One Day team and throw him to the wolves.

You can see it every time he gets out, he, like, crawls off the pitch.

We can all say it, but Bailey, McDonald, you cannot keep saying, oh, he was once the number one batter in the world.

He scored 10 test centuries.

The last one was three years ago.

Be a good spot for him to try and nail down test cricket.

I do like that selection.

Just back to Marnus, George Bailey did not guarantee Marnus' spot at number three in the team, and they did talk about moving Smith to three.

Well, I don't think they talked about it.

And, and that's, that's your argument, right? And which is, which is a very valid argument.

And, um, I guess the fact that they've stuck with him, and yeah, George Bailey did speak about Steve Smith.

I, I, personally, I think Steve Smith should bat three and then, you know, have Inglis at five, Green at four, and whether you wanna play Webster or Cooper Connolly at number seven, that's up to you.

But, um, but yeah, now that they've taken him, probably they have...

Uh, not too many surprises there, Jarred.

I know they've, uh, been very high on, um, Michael Neser, so yay.

[laughs] And, uh, you know, even when George Bailey spoke last week when, while announcing the white ball squads, he said the only injury concern or the, wa- for them was Michael Neser, so, so he makes it as well, much like Marnus, uh, you know, hopefully gets to play test cricket in, uh, the land of his birth as well.

Uh, Cooper Connolly, I, I, I'd been hearing for a while they're pretty high on him.

That's not happened.

George Bailey's backed Labuschagne in.

Um, as he said, "We're not shying away from the fact that we'd like some more runs from Marn." Yeah, well, you would from your first drop.

Generally, you would like some runs from number three.

... had to give, and, and that was it.

And for all of the speak- all of the chat rather of needing more runs out of Marnus, if, if it was to be the first test and they drop him, well, okay, what happens then? Cooper Connolly batting three in Test cricket.

The question was asked of George Bailey today about that, and he spoke around it and said they think he could one day, but that's not really the plan.

Of course it's not.