George Bailey is firming to make his Test debut in Brisbane with national selector John Inverarity saying the right-handed batsman was now entrenched as an Australian player.
Current one-day captain Bailey was left out of the Australia A side to face England in Hobart next week, with Inverarity confirming that was because the Tasmanian was not viewed as a development player.
Fellow aspirants for the vacant middle-order batting position for the Ashes, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Alex Doolan were all selected for an Australia A team captained by Moises Henriques and featuring no more than two players from each state.
But selectors decided they would rather see Bailey face Ryan Harris and Queensland in a Sheffield Shield game at Allan Border Field starting on November 6.
“We thought George had gone past that, that’s more development and he was firmly entrenched as an Australian player,” said Inverarity on Tuesday.
“He’s a very mature, calm young man. Composed, and I think you’ll see in his batting performances, a difficult situation brings out the best in him.”
Inverarity said selectors already had a strong idea of who they wanted for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba starting on November 21.
But early Shield form and performances for Australia A would also be taken into consideration.
Bailey is averaging 106 on the ODI tour of India, with three half-centuries from four innings.
Despite a less than breathtaking first-class record, Inverarity said Bailey’s strength of character had him under strong consideration to fill the vacant spot at No.5 or 6.
“When we look at a player, we look at four things,” said Inverarity.
“Their batting, their bowling, their fielding and their character – or what else they bring to the team.
“And George certainly brings a great deal in that character category to the team.
“His performance in ODI cricket has been outstanding.
“Since he started 18 months ago, he’s been our best performed one-day player, in terms of average runs, aggregate and strike rate.”
Australian captain Michael Clarke said he would love to see Bailey get his opportunity in the Test team this summer.
“Bailes has done an exceptional job in the last couple of years in the shorter formats and he’s leading the boys really well,” Clarke said.
“It’s obviously going to come down to performance and who selectors think the right man is for that position but I’ve always enjoyed playing alongside Bailes, he’s a great fella and if they select him I’ll be extremely happy.”
Bailey told AAP facing Australian spearhead Harris would be the perfect test of his ability to turn limited-overs form into first-class success.
“It’s just about taking back the same sort of mindset. Certainly what I’ve been training for in the nets is not too different from one-day to four-day cricket, so hopefully that transpires,” he said.
“Straight back in against Ryan Harris, who I think is certainly our best quick will be really challenging.”
