Credits: CA/X
Australian chief selector George Bailey broke his silence on allegations of biases and favouritism on selectors after Nathan McSweeney’s snub. Notably, the George Bailey-led panel dropped McSweeney after he failed to perform against India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The side brought in 19-year-old opening batter Sam Kontas to the squad, following which the panel had to receive criticism from fans across the country.
Bailey opened up on Kontas’ selection and stated that his batting style is quite different from others, and they were looking to throw something different at India. Bailey stated, "You can say the way our top three are playing has been reasonably similar and we'd like the ability to throw something different at India off the back of that. If you look more broadly, I don't necessarily think the top six has quite functioned to the level that we need in this series as a whole. He added, "Think Sam's method, his style, is different to Nathan's, different again to Beau's and Josh's as the other batting options within that team and we think they provide the options of a different look and a different make up for the XI come Boxing Day."
Nathan was disappointed: George Bailey reveals McSweeney was not in good mood
Bailey also went on to reveal that the snub left McSweeney disappointed and he was not in a good mood after being ruled out. Bailey said, "Nathan was disappointed and really the message to him was, much the same as at the start of the series, that we believe, and that hasn't changed, that he has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level but just given the way the series has played out, we want the option of throwing something different at India for this next Test.”
Not only this, but Bailey also heaped praise on McSweeney and said, "In the lead-up to the series he was performing incredibly well. Think the key around that was his methodology and the way he plays, we believe doesn't change too much wherever he's coming in in the order. It hasn't quite worked out as you'd like it to at the start, but it's still very much the start of his career."
