Oz coach Arthur praises 'impressive' Bailey

Sydney, Mar 22(ANI): Australia coach Micky Arthur has lauded Tasmania captain George Bailey for his performances so far in the Caribbean tour.

Bailey has made an excellent start to his one-day career against the West Indies, top-scoring in game one before combining with Michael Hussey in a 112-run stand on his way to a first one-day half-century in Tuesday's tied match.

He struck a well made 59 batting the No.4 position in the batting order, after playing at No.6 in his first two matches, which is a spot Arthur concedes his team have been struggling to fill with captain Michael Clarke back at home treating his wounded hamstring.

Although, Arthur doesn't believes Bailey is as vital as Clarke, he does believe he has gone a long way in justifying the selectors' faith in him.

"He's done everything we've wanted. He's come in, he's provided stability, he's a calm, levelheaded bloke, given a lot of direction to players. He's just been a real positive influence around the place," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Arthur, as saying.

"With Clarkey not here we're still trying to find the perfect order and we'll continue to do that. Michael Clarke's such a big cog for us, whether he bats at three or four," Arthur said.It's been hard trying to shuffle players around and sometimes that's not great because it doesn't give the stability players need," he added. (ANI)