George Bailey: Australia have to be at their best to beat New Zealand in ODI series

Melbourne: Australian batsman George Bailey has called on his side to be at their absolute best if they want to get back to winning ways in the upcoming Chappell-Hadlee One-Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand beginning at the SCG on Sunday. The Black Caps currently hold the coveted trophy following their 2-1 series win on home soil earlier this year. And Bailey, who is well aware of the talented Kane Williamson-led side, admitted that Australia need to redeem themselves in order to re-claim bragging rights over their trans-Tasman rivals. “New Zealand’s record in one-day cricket is phenomenal.They have a really good blueprint, they bat deep, they field really athletically as a side and they have lots of options with the ball,” cricket.com.au quoted Bailey as saying.

The Steven Smith-led side will head into the upcoming series on the back of a disappointing 0-5 ODI whitewash against South Africa. “We obviously had a bit of a disappointing last tour so it’s nice to get back together in Australia and hopefully redeem ourselves. There’s certainly an expectation of success in this team and hopefully we can get back to winning ways,” the 34-year-old said.

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However, Bailey hoped the ODI team would be able to take confidence from Australia’s recent day-night Test victory over South Africa in Adelaide and produce a performance of similar quality in the forthcoming series. “I don’t know what the mood in the Test team was but there was a lot said about it from the outside,” he said.

“It’s always a pretty good feeling when the one-day side comes together because you have that mix of players who have been in the Test team and guys coming in from the outside, so there’s a good bit of energy,” Bailey added. The Sydney ODI will be followed by matches in Canberra (December 6) and Melbourne (December 9).