Australian captain Pat Cummins has come in defense of chief selector George Bailey. Cummins’ comments came after the former Australian batter and coach Darren Lehmann suggested that Bailey is not the right man for the job, as he it too close with the players.
Lehmann made his displeasure known as Australian selectors are mulling whether to make changes or retain the same XI for the boxing day test against India in Melbourne. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) is currently tied 1-1 and all eyes are on both sides as they look to have a psychological advantage by winning the MCG test heading into the Sydney test.
Interestingly, Bailey played with eight players of the current Australian team and has often seen cheering them from the sidelines or sitting with them in the dugout. The vision of it doesn’t seem right to Lehmann, who thinks Bailey can’t make harsh calls in favor of the team.
“In my opinion, he’s too close to the team,” Lehmann said on ABC Sport. “I would like him sitting up watching in a selectors’ box somewhere and be able to make his own decisions.”
Lehmann feels spending much time with the players makes you emotional and care more about them than a team as a whole.
“My preference is for the selector to be able to make decisions within a selection group and deliver a hard message if they have to. Make a hard decision if they have to for the betterment of Australian cricket.”
However, Pat Cummins slammed Lehmann’s criticism and thinks the comments are unfair for George Bailey, who has a strong working relationship with the players. Here’s what he said (via Yahoo Sports):
“I don’t know how that (criticism) can be true.”
“There is so much more to picking a side than just looking at the internet. Going on with really strong philosophies, working with players. The most important thing is you do stay objective and I think the selection panel are amazing at that,” he added.
Cummins thinks Bailey and Co. have made some bold calls over the years, which have benefited them. He also added that national as well as state players are happy with Bailey’s role as a chief selector.
“They’ve made some really bold calls over the past couple of years in all formats. Probably bolder than I have seen other selectors make in previous years. They’ve never shied away from a tough decision. What George brings to the role is amazing and I think you would hear that from guys in the side, but also from state guys as well,” he added.
Pat Cummins praises Nathan McSweeney’s performances in debut series
Captain Pat Cummins lauded opener Nathan McSweeney’s patience and resilience so far in his debut series. Although, the right-hander has scored only 72 runs in six innings in BGT, he has shown great courage against Jasprit Bumrah and Co.
After reeling under pressure in Perth, McSweeney contributed a crucial 39 in the pink-ball test in Adelaide, which eventually helped the side to win the game by 10 wickets and level the series 1-1.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way he’s gone about it. Even today, someone starting out his career still being selfless enough to go out there and try to play shots rather than try and preserve and get a score. Really impressed with him, again probably hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked, but he has played some important knocks that have set up a win in Adelaide and a really good result here,” Cummins was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
FAQs
How many wickets has Pat Cummins taken in BGT 2024-25?
14
What is Nathan McSweeney’s record in first-class cricket?
2324 runs @36.31
