Waugh: Bailey can’t be selective

FORMER selector Mark Waugh has called on George Bailey to stand down as chairman of selectors if he is not prepared to rule on whether close friend and business partner Tim Paine should line up in the Ashes series.

Waugh also expects Steve Smith to captain Australia at some point this summer because he says workhorse Patrick Cummins – who is oddson to replace Paine as skipper – cannot battle through a fiveTest series without a rest.

Bailey revealed this week that if the national selection panel was split on whether Paine should retain the wicketkeeping gloves then he would recuse himself from discussions and let coach Justin Langer and new selector Tony Dodemaide reach a verdict.

Bailey and Paine are longtime friends from Tasmania and business partners in the Tasmania Body Fit Training franchise.

“It sounds like Tim is the only close friend I have, and I think since the day that I was given the opportunity to have this role we’ve been aware that’s the case,” Bailey said.

But Waugh, who was a selector from 2014 to 2018 and helped resuscitate Paine’s international career ahead of the 2017-18 home Ashes, queried whether Bailey was fit to chair the selection panel given his ties to current players.

“I’ve got a bit of an issue about this,” Waugh said. “If you’re chairman of selectors it’s your job to make the decision. You’ve got to make the tough calls. I find this really weird. What happens if it’s one-all and Tony Dodemaide and Justin Langer can’t agree?

“Who makes the decision then if George Bailey’s not going to make it? I think down the track this could come back to haunt George as well, because there’s a lot of players at the back end of their career who George played with.

“David Warner, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, so he’s going to make tough decisions on these players, and he’s still quite close to them. I think this needs to be sorted out. Either George stays as chairman, and he makes the decisions, or he steps down and just be a selector, not the chairman.”

Waugh declared Paine was still the No.1 keeper-batsman in Australia and said he would pick him for the December 8 Test at the Gabba if the 36year-old was cleared physically and mentally.

Waugh was also sure Cummins would be installed as Australia’s 47th Test captain.

“He hasn’t been named captain yet, but I think he will be,” he said. “He’s going to have to be rested at some stage … that’s why the vice-captain is going to be so important and it’s going to have to be someone with a lot of experience.

“I say it’ll be Steve Smith.”