George Bailey has waited a long time to take his place at cricket's top table and the 31-year-old has no intention of being distracted by the debate over whether one-day form, however rich, justifies a Test call-up.
The Tasmanian - who is joined in the squad by mercurial fast bowler Mitchell Johnson - was not exactly a surprise inclusion in Australia's First Ashes Test squad yesterday, having been heavily touted as the best candidate to fill the vacant No.6 batting position for several weeks.
Bailey spent two seasons playing for Scotland - in 2007 and 2010 - in the Clydesdale Bank 40, top scoring in the first with 274 runs at an average of 34. This particular road to the Australian team once ran through Glasgow.
Now, suddenly, with Steve Smith - who will slot in No.5 - racking up scores in the Sheffield Shield and Michael Clarke dealing well with his long-standing back problem, Australia's brittle batting line-up looks a lot more solid.
The calls for Bailey's inclusion were fired by what the chief selector John Inverarity described as his "extraordinary" form as stand-in Australia captain on the recently concluded one-day tour of India. His haul of 478 runs at an average of 95.6 demanded attention from selectors but it was as much his relaxed demeanour, calm leadership and humour that won over his compatriots.
Some, most notably the former Test captain Ian Chappell, tried to resist the tidal wave of opinion that appeared to be carrying Bailey inexorably towards a Test debut. A paltry average of 18 in Sheffield Shield cricket is in contrast with his 54.96 average in one-day internationals but Inverarity and his fellow selectors clearly decided that form was form, whatever the colour of the ball.
Bailey has more than just a name in common with the irrepressible hero of Frank Capra's classic film It's a Wonderful Life, and was looking resolutely at the positives yesterday. "I don't really think of it that way," Bailey said in Hobart when asked about his lack of runs off the red ball. "It's just good form, so just hit the ball. It's the same approach and I feel very comfortable with where I am at the moment."
Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, pointed out that Bailey had not actually had the chance to impress in Sheffield Shield cricket this season because he had been representing his country in India.
"He's exciting and he's in good form, he'll get his chance to have a real crack at it in the first few Test matches and I'm sure he'll do well," he said in Brisbane, where the First Test starts a week tomorrow. "He's a confidence player, he's experienced so he won't be overawed by the occasion and I think he'll have a good series."
It is not the first time Bailey has been asked to step up into the unknown for Australia having never previously represented his country when he was named Twenty20 captain in 2011. He made his one-day debut in 2012 and scored his maiden century earlier this year against West Indies, smashing 30 runs off the last six balls he faced to pass the milestone with a six and reach 125 not out.
His second international century was a brilliant 156 from 139 balls in defeat to India in Nagpur last month, but even that was not enough to convince Chappell.
"Bailey, despite his mountain of runs in one-day cricket, is a batsman who's restricted through the cover region, can be stifled by good spinners and is troubled by well-directed short-pitched bowling," Chappell wrote. "His moderate first-class record and those limitations are not a good template for a test batsman."
England, gunning for a fourth successive Ashes triumph over the next two months, will certainly test that technique to the limits in Brisbane next week. "I'm as excited as anyone to find out how I measure up," Bailey said. "I'll just give it the best that I've got."
Australia (v England, First Ashes Test, the Gabba, Brisbane, November 21-25)
Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner.
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