Australian batsman to replace Mahela Jayawardene at Sussex for limited overs matches later this season
Bailey signs English county deal
Australia's former Twenty20 skipper George Bailey has signed with English county side Sussex to play some 50-over and Twenty20 matches later this year.
Bailey will be available for the final seven matches of England's T20 Blast competition as well as Sussex's one-day fixtures.
The Australian will replace Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene at the Sharks, who last month signed a deal for the first seven matches of the T20 Blast.
"I really enjoyed my time in the county game in 2013 with Hampshire and I am looking forward to testing myself once more in one of the toughest domestic cricket environments," Bailey said.
"I have heard excellent things about the set-up at Sussex and we have a really exciting squad that I believe can mount title challenges in all formats in 2015."
We're delighted to announce the signing of GEORGE BAILEY for the second half of our @NatWestT20Blast campaign #GOSBTS pic.twitter.com/Jsg9aqarX5
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC) April 15, 2015
Bailey's time with Sussex should be the perfect lead-in for Australia's limited overs matches against England in August and September.
The Kings XI Punjab and Hobart Hurricanes skipper stepped down as captain of Australia's T20 side in September last year, citing a desire to play more first-class cricket.
The 32-year-old led his country in ODI cricket as recently as their opening World Cup fixture against England on February 14, scoring an important 55 with the bat as Australia won by 111 runs.
But it was Bailey's only contribution - at least on the field - to Australia's World Cup triumph as regular skipper Michael Clarke returned to the side to guide them to a fifth World Cup title.
Amazing to have got George Bailey as an overseas player later in the summer! Great bloke and what an exciting player for the fans to watch!
— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) April 15, 2015
Overall, 29 of Bailey's 57 ODIs have come as captain of the side, for a winning percentage of 55 per cent. He's scored over 2000 ODI runs at an average of 42 and is an obvious candidate to replace Clarke in Australia's middle order now that the former skipper has retired from ODI cricket.
"The whole club is really excited at the prospect of George joining us," said Sussex’s Professional Cricket Manager Mark Robinson.
"He is obviously a fantastic one-day player and is also a World Cup winner and international captain which will only add to our dressing room."