Winner takes it all

GEOFF BOYCOTT made one of his frank but prescient observations on Test Match Special last week about the lengthy growing pains of Bangladesh. No fan of their politically-motivated acceleration into cricket's international elite ten years ago, the Grumpy Old Man of Yorkshire has a simple reason for their ongoing struggles.

"If you keep losing, you play on the defensive," he noted. Their three Test victories – over Zimbabwe and a depleted West Indies – generated little momentum. Better to win regularly at a lower level and develop a positive mindset, he stated, than become entrenched in a defeatist psyche.

Scotland are in no danger of being fast-tracked to a place at the top table of the world game but George Bailey sees the parallels with the Tigers' plight and the struggles of the Saltires to establish themselves as a threat at home and abroad. The Australian batsman, back for a second spell as the side's overseas professional for this summer's Clydesdale Bank Pro40, is from the antipodean school that views second as nowhere. Choosing failure, quite simply, is unconceivable.

Gavin Hamilton's men meet Hampshire this afternoon at the Rose Bowl and Kent tomorrow at Canterbury. Another double defeat would obliterate the feel-good factor that fleetingly arose when the Scots won their opener against Leicestershire. Another season at the foot of the standings would become almost inevitable.

And that is where Bailey pinpoints the huge gulf between the approach of his temporary employers and that found in his regular gig with Tasmania. "There is a difference in mentality and it's the expectation of success," he observes. "We expect a certain level of performance. We spoke here the other day about our batting group and how everyone has got starts in a game. But no-one's gone on and made 80 or 100.

"In Tasmania, as a group, we'd be furious about that. Whereas here, it's acceptable because those 30s and 40s keep you in the game. You probably end up as one of the better performers if you score that. But how many games will you help your team win? Probably not many."

He is quick to own up to his personal disappointment after just one half-century to date, having flourished during the Australian domestic campaign. In truth, all but Richie Berrington, pictured below, are in the must-do-better camp while the Saltires selectors will hope that Gregor Maiden and Dougie Lockhart will justify their recalls with runs aplenty.

Berrington, the young all-rounder, has come of age with three consecutive half-tons. "He's the all-round package," declares Bailey, praise that will add further lustre to a CV that must have attracted the attention of England's county talent scouts. However, to lose a blossoming performer would be a setback at a time when he has the qualities which are needed most.

"There's probably a bit of an increase in energy from when I was here three years ago and that probably comes about by having a younger side," claims Bailey. "There's just that real enthusiasm there to do well. You see someone like Richie. He's just loving playing the game which is great to see. And although they haven't had much of an opportunity to play, having guys like Freddie Coleman and Matty Parker about the team's been excellent.

"What this team needs to do is learn how to win and learn that it's OK to win. It doesn't matter whether you're amateur or professional. It's about how you finish things off or stay in contests to have that opportunity to win."

That is a philosophy which, over the next month, Bailey will espouse on home soil. With Scotland's 40-over campaign split in two, he will fly Down Under to spend the interim spell captaining Australia's A team in their forthcoming series against Sri Lanka A. It is a precious chance to impress, he concedes, following a late call-up to the senior squad during their recent tour of New Zealand. As he expected, he remained an unused reserve then. "But it really only wet my whistle. It just made me want to be there more often."

At the age of 27, he has time yet. The Australian selectors court those who impress over a period of time rather than falling for overnight sensations. Witness Mike Hussey, who was 30 before he was given his debut despite outstanding prior form.

That Bailey has earned positive reviews for his qualities as a captain will do his cause no harm, especially if Ricky Ponting takes his leave after next winter's Ashes. "That's probably going to be an important part of my role if I get an opportunity in the Australian side, that leadership responsibility will probably be a big thing in the post-Ponting, post-Hussey team," he says.

"There will be a need for leaders. The nice thing with captaining the 'A' side is that I'll get to play in most of those games, if not all, whereas in the past I've been in and out and found it hard to get into a rhythm. Hopefully I can settle and score runs."

Hefty scores in either hemisphere might yet bring him an Ashes spot. "I still think I'm a long way away," Bailey modestly predicts. Yet cricket is as much as test of character as skill. When thrown in at the deep end, the only real choice is to sink or swim.