George Bailey Reveals The Advice He Gave To Steve Smith Before The ICC World Cup 2015

Former Australian skipper, George Bailey has revealed the piece of advice he gave to Steve Smith before the ICC World Cup 2015.

Smith was the standout performer in the 2015 World Cup as Australia lifted their record 5th World Cup title. George Bailey was the in charge of the team at that time and he has opened up on the advice he gave to Smith just ahead of 2015 ODI World Cup.

Speaking on Unplayable Podcast, Bailey revealed it was he who had suggested to the team that Smith should bat at No. 3 position.

George Bailey Reveals The Advice He Gave To Steve Smith

’Pup’ (Clarke) had missed heaps of one-day cricket in the lead up to the World Cup so I felt I’d had a contribution to the team and the shaping of it,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

“My claim to fame, and no doubt he would have ended up there anyway, (but) we’d been using Steve Smith at six or seven in the one-day team and in Zimbabwe (the previous August-September) we threw Mitch Marsh up to three in a game,” added Bailey.

Bailey added, “I made a suggestion that it should be Steve Smith (at three) because at that time Mitch could, and still can, bludgeon the ball, but I couldn’t see him batting for the full innings, where I could see ‘Smudger’ (Smith) batting for 50 overs, making those key hundreds that you could bat around.”

“That recommendation was taken up and that played a huge part – Smudger was three right throughout the World Cup and hasn’t moved since,” Bailey said.

Steve Smith Won Australia Their 5th World Cup Title

Australia’s Steve Smith is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world across formats. The right-hander has amassed 7,227 runs in 73 Tests at an average of 62.84 with 26 centuries and 3 double tons o his name. He has also scored 4,162 runs in 125 ODIs at an average of 42.47.

Smith was a crucial figure in Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning campaign as he was the leading run-scorer for the side in the tournament.

In eight games, Smith scored 402 runs at an average of 67 and a strike rate of 91.57. But all of this, maybe, would not have been possible without a crucial suggestion from former Australia captain George Bailey.

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