Monday, November 11, 2013

Bailey banks on high confidence

By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Oct 29

THE smile on the face of Australian captain George Bailey said it all. Any team, coming to India and giving a tough fight to the hosts, would feel proud of their efforts. Australians are no different. Leading the seven-match series 2-1, Australian skipper looked relaxed and replied all the queries with a bright smile.
A satisfied-looking Bailey said the team’s confidence was high after their two wins at Pune and Mohali and they were looking to another good fight on Wednesday.
“We are very happy to be 2-1 up. We have played some very good cricket. We look forward to tomorrow’s game. The three (finished) games have been outstanding. We are finding a lot of confidence at the moment. That stems from the way the tour has gone so far,” Bailey said.
Bailey, who was named captain after Michael Clarke was ruled out due to injury, said he tends to be happy most of the time. “I am quite happy most of the time. I am enjoying the tour. We are playing some good cricket.”.
With over 100-plus average in the current series, the Australian captain was all praise for his other team-mates because of whom they managed to post 300-plus totals in almost all the matches. “We have been pretty consistent with our batting and probably most important is, we are clear about our roles over the last 6-7 games (going back to series v England),” he said.
The 31-year-old hinted that there won’t be any changes in his playing eleven since the team was performing exceedingly well. Seldom a team gets a chance to stick with the same eleven in such a big series, he said. “You will not have the opportunity to do it every time. It’s no surprise to pick players who have been doing well and not make many changes.”
Like any other player Bailey sympathised with the bowlers who are at the receiving end due to the change in the ODI rule.
“The way the rules are, they are certainly challenging for the bowlers. They have to keep a plan every time they are bowling and still some balls will travel the distance. That’s the nature of the game. The challenge is to be consistent with their approach mentally, make sure they have a plan and execute it to the best of their ability,” Bailey concluded.

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