George Bailey has been quoted in today’s press thusly:

“They made it really clear that doing well on this Indian tour, scoring runs over there will be looked upon in the same regard as the guys that are staying back and playing the first couple of rounds of Shield cricket,” Bailey said.

“I don’t think there’s any excuses for guys to be worried about what’s ahead.”

The “they” referenced in that quote are John Inverarity and Darren Lehmann. I seem to be saying this a lot at the moment when speaking about Cricket Australia and its administration of the game: are you kidding me?

Can anyone explain to me how playing 7 ODI games in India versus India could possibly be considered the equal of playing first class cricket in Australian conditions over more than 50 overs when it comes to preparation for the Ashes?

I just don’t understand the mind set or the thought process that elevates playing in conditions the reverse of a test match to first class preparation on local wickets. Then again I have not understood much of what Cricket Australia has done of late.