Bailey pragmatic about Cup spot

One of the key reasons that George Bailey stands as a vital component of Australia’s World Cup aspirations was clear to anyone in attendance at the MCG today as his team prepared for tomorrow’s tournament opener against England.

Not so much in the nets, although Bailey maintains he’s striking the ball as cleanly now as he was a year ago when he was crowned Australia’s One-Day International Player of the Year even though he’s posted only one score above 50 from his last 14 ODI innings.

Rather it was Bailey’s performance in the obligatory pre-game captains’ media conference that underscored the 32-year-old’s innate value to the Australians’ as a consummate team player and a calm head in turbulent waters.

Bailey knows that in a star-studded batting line-up he is, more than any other member of the incumbent top six, in danger of slipping from on-field leader to occupying the unwanted position of ‘left right out’ when Michael Clarke returns from injury next weekend, as is expected.

Lehmann rules Clarke out of World Cup opener

When asked today how much additional pressure he was feeling given his lack of runs and the fact he is assured of losing the captaincy at the very least when Clarke comes back, Bailey refused to try and bury the question beneath a hail of platitudes.

His measured, matter-of-fact response when asked if he felt he was facing a battle to hold his place in the XI for Australia’s second match of the tournament against Bangladesh in Brisbane next Saturday effectively defused the issue as a point of debate and possible division.

“I don’t think I probably will (keep his position) but that’s fine,” Bailey said without the blink of an eye or any discernible dimming of his sunny demeanour.

“I think it’s great that he (Clarke) is on track … he has done a tremendous job to get back on time, even to have murmurs of him being (fit for) this game.

“Certainly I’d like more runs, there’s no doubt about that, but our record as a team in the games we’ve played is bloody good I reckon, and I’ll stand behind that.

“If you look at my international career, it stacks up pretty well against just about anyone’s, so I’m very comfortable where I’m at.

“But as with every single batsman who is about to take part in this tournament, I want some runs.”

Even though, as a result of Clarke’s run of hamstring and back problems over the past year or more, Bailey has led Australia team in around twice as many matches as the appointed skipper – with 15 wins from his 28 matches in charge – he does not feel that it’s more ‘his’ team than Clarke’s.

Nor does he believe that the alternating leadership in both the Test and 50-over formats will have affected the way the team plays or the message that’s being imparted by the on and off-field leaders.

“I think all along we’ve talked about a squad mentality, and I imagine all the other teams would be feeling the same way that if you’re relying on 11 blokes to win the tournament I think you’ll fall well short,” Bailey said.

“So I think we’re very comfortable with the group we’ve got, where we’re at and the roles everyone plays within the team.

“I don’t think there’s too much different that happens regardless of whether I’m captaining or Michael’s captaining.

“We’ve had a group of players who have played so much cricket together that if Michael, or I or ‘Boof’ (coach Darren Lehmann) are saying something in front of the group, we still have a general idea of the direction we are going, the way we want to play, and the way we want to be seen as a team.”

One aspect of the captaincy that Bailey makes no secret of revelling in is the knowledge he has an arsenal of four world-class fast bowlers at his disposal – Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – to unleash on the opposition.

Which he happily admits gives him far greater satisfaction than having to face up to the same quartet in the practice nets.

“It’s amazing come game time, it’s horrible at training,” Bailey said of the fast-bowling options available to Australia in this Cup campaign.

“I for one can’t wait for the actual game to start so at least I can direct it rather than just cop it.

“They’re a pretty special group of bowlers who, if they work as well as they hope they can throughout this tournament and as well as they have at different times, they could be a real difference.

“A lot of people have talked about ‘death’ bowling and power play bowling, I certainly feel like with our attack we can do a lot of damage up front and kill games off and win games early which is just so exciting.

“And people talk a little bit in one-day cricket about dead periods or periods when the game floats along.

“But when you’ve got that sort of arsenal at your disposal you can be continually pushing the game and controlling the game and trying to have a real impact and that’s a pretty special thing to create in a team.”

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Anderson says he has become accustomed to hostile MCG receptions // Getty Images

Early breakthroughs with the new ball(s) will be crucial to both teams tomorrow, but England’s strike bowler James Anderson believes it is especially vital for England to try and quell the influence the partisan, sell-out crowd of around 90,000 is likely to exert at the MCG.

Anderson, who made his ODI debut at the famous ground as a 20-year-old in 2002, is not expecting to hear too many messages of support floating across the boundary fence even though England is likely to have its share of fans among the crowd.

“(Back) then I was just happy to be there and enjoying the occasion,” Anderson said today when asked how he had changed in the 13 years since his first match in England colours.

“I guess the abuse at the time was a bit of a shock, and tomorrow it won’t be a shock.

“I’ve played here a few times before and I know the atmosphere that 90-odd thousand people can create and that’s why, as a cricketer, you want to play in games like this.

“We’re guessing that the majority will be against us, that’s something we’re prepared for but we’ve played here in a Test match in front of 90-odd thousand here on Boxing Day and we know that if we start well then we can quieten most of them.”

But England’s most successful ODI bowler concedes there is likely less hope of silencing Australia’s chief on-field provocateur, David Warner, with whom he’s had a number of heated verbal exchanges in recent years.

And even though the ICC has indicated it will clamp down firmly on breaches of their player Code of Behaviour during the World Cup, Anderson claimed the England team won’t be going out of their way to try and fire up the Australian opener.

“Having played against him in the past I’m not sure he needs too much encouragement,” Anderson said of Warner.

“Our main job is to try and get him out, not to rile him up, so we’ll concentrate on that.”

Australia’s World Cup Fixtures

February 14: v England, 2:30pm at the MCG

February 21: v Bangladesh, 1:30pm at the Gabba

February 28: v New Zealand, 2:00pm at Eden Park (NZ)

March 4: v Afghanistan, 2:30pm at the WACA

March 8: v Sri Lanka, 2:30pm at the SCG

March 13: v Scotland, 2:30pm at Blundstone Arena

View the full fixture list here