Since his vicious attack on David Warner, in which he said the veteran did not deserve a “hero’s send-off” because of his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering controversy, former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson has been in the news nonstop.
Mitchell Johnson also included George Bailey, the chief selector, in the discussion, arguing that the former captain was appointed to the board while he was still too close to numerous players on the team. He cited the case of former captain Tim Paine, whose career was abruptly interrupted by a sexting scandal. But since Tony Dodemaide was close to Paine, Selector George Bailey left it to him and Justin Langer to resolve the issue.
In his blog for The West Australian, Mitchell Johnson stated, “Chairman of selectors George Bailey said he didn’t want to be part of deciding Paine’s fate because the pair were close friends when then-captain Tim Paine’s career was ending over the sexting controversy.”
“Coach Justin Langer and fellow selector Tony Dodemaide will have to figure it out,” George Bailey stated. The way Warner has been handled recently begs the question of whether George Bailey transitioned from playing to the job too quickly and became too close to some of the players, he said. Warner played with Bailey in all three versions.
George Bailey responded to Johnson’s remarks by saying that it would never be advantageous for anyone to be cut off from the players and unaware of what is happening with the squad. Following Johnson’s observation that the selector position appeared to be one for the “inner sanctum,” he responded
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Bailey as saying, “My only observation would be if someone could show me how being distant and unaware of what players are going through and what the plans are with the team and with the coaching staff—how that’s more beneficial—I’d be all ears.”
Bailey also defended his choice to include Warner in the Test team, saying that his unique ability to dominate opposition attacks makes him stand out and that Australia will have a hard time finding a suitable substitute for him, just like it was tough to fill the vacuum left by Shane Warne’s departure.
In the end, we continue to believe that he is among our top 11 players to win the opening test. Each Test is crucial, in my opinion, as far as the World Test Championship point structure is concerned in Test cricket.
In every game, there are points up for grabs. Our attention is therefore primarily focused on selecting the 11 players that we believe are capable of doing the job; naturally, each player has a function within that, and we believe David is the best choice for that for this test.”
“That ability to put the opposition under pressure is pretty special and not to be taken lightly,” Bailey stated. “Whenever you’ve had someone who’s had that longevity and been so dominant in a role, [it’s important] just to temper the expectations of whoever is going to be the replacement there.”I recall how Warnie ended up becoming a spinner and how many spinners were brought in and then benched in an attempt to almost mimic Warnie.
And in my opinion, it’s impossible to duplicate someone who has contributed for as long as they have done it so expertly. David fits that description because of his lengthy history of opening the batting for Australia. Therefore, we’re well aware of the need to ensure that the fit after David is ideal.”
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