Colombo, Sep 27: Australian captain, George Bailey, believes that the tournament truly begins in the Super Eights phase of the ICC World Twenty20. Speaking ahead of their contest against India, Bailey said that the 2007 winners are a tough team and feels that the team with the 'X' factor will win the game.
Excerpts from Bailey's press interaction:
On flair being the essence of India-Australia contests and whether the outcome of India's tour of Australia will have a bearing on the game tomorrow
Yeah, flair will be there, that’s the nature of the game. I think you need that bit of flair to perform and execute your plans. But once the game gets started, the battle is on. Then it all depends on flair, the performances, about who has got the ‘X’ factor, that [team] will win the game.
But that Test series and the one-day matches that followed will not hold any relevance now. We are proud of the record we have at home. I always thought that the conditions and the way India has played Twenty20 over the last few years, if anyone is tough, then it is certainly them.
On the importance of beginning strongly
In terms of Twenty20, in general it is about momentum and confidence. If we can win that first game and get three on the trot, get our plans in order, that will be big. All four teams have topped their groups and we need to feel good about the way we are playing to get going.
On their group
It is a tough group, but so is the other group. It is tough no doubt, from here on. Without being disrespectful to the earlier stage, this is the start of the tournament proper. We got to make sure we go out and perform because one slip-up and a loss of confidence can really hurt you. Every game is tough. But you wouldn’t want to play Sri Lanka or the West Indies on the other side.
On whether Australia is relying too heavily on Shane Watson
I don’t know whether you can call it over-dependence on Watson just because he has performed well in both the games. He is a very good player, he is good with the ball and he is an outstanding batsman. He is one of the players that opposition teams fear when they run into him. At the moment, one of his strengths is his consistency. So, he is dependable, but I am not sure if we are over-dependent on him.
Watson and [David] Warner are able to provide us an urgent start. There is no doubt that they are key wickets because they can take the game away. I guess they are crucial, but we are not at a stage where the rest of us are just making up the numbers.
On Australia’s lower middle order not getting enough game time till now
The middle order is very happy. I know it’s a tough one now, but you’ve just got to prepare and train well. It’s not that any of these guys haven’t played a lot. In fact, we have played a lot against the guys we are coming up against. Whenever you get the opportunity to perform, you make sure you are ready to go.
