SYDNEY, (Reuters) – George Bailey has stood down as Australia’s Twenty20 captain to concentrate on longer forms of the game with half an eye on adding to his five test caps.
The 32-year-old batsman, who has also captained the Australian one-day side this week in Zimbabwe in the absence of injured skipper Michael Clarke, said he struggled with the transition between the different formats of the game.
“It took a lot of thought and a lot of time,” he told Cricket Australia’s website.
“I had a good think about what I wanted to do in the next four years and I’m really passionate about playing the best four-day and one-day cricket that I can.
“I guess the very end goal is to play test cricket, but more than that it’s just about playing the best four-day cricket I can.
“It’s the format I find the most challenging and the format that I get the most enjoyment from – it’s where my real passion lies.
“Whether concentrating on that ends up in me getting back into the test squad, it doesn’t worry me too much.”