Smilin’ George to captain the Tigers

Posted by jrod on May 29, 2009 under TAS | Be the First to Comment

With Dan Marsh’s axing decision to step down as captain (Even though I wrote he was retiring, it appears he is to play on) Tasmania have given the top job to George Bailey.

It is the obvious choice, mostly because there seems to be no other alternatives.

It will be interesting to see how George goes in the top role, he seems like a tricky little guy, and he is stepping into a tough bastard’s shoes.

Tasmania had to make changes after a shithouse performance last year.

It does mean this is a good time for Bailey to take over, as he probably can’t get the team to perform any worse than they did last year.

Watching him being interviewed in the IPL a few times he struck me as a fairly clever cricketer, even if he did run himself out the only two times he batted in the tournament.

He does have one massive plus as a captain, the media will find it hard to turn on someone who is always smiling.

His deputy is going to be Tim Paine, and this does worry me a bit.

For the benefit of Australian cricket I just want Tim Paine to make runs and take catches consistently, and I hope the Vice Captaincy isn’t a distraction to him.

The problem with Bailey and Paine has always been consistency; neither of them has had a bend the shield over kind of season yet.

Perhaps this will make both of them better cricketers, but captaining the Tigers is probably the hardest job in shield cricket, as Tasmania don’t have any major football or rugby teams to vent their frustration on.

I wish them well, not well enough that they beat the Vics, but well.