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Aussies chase T20 supremacy

Aussies chase T20 supremacy

01/31/2012 06:02:30 AM

New Australian T20 captain George Bailey concedes his side has a responsibility to keep India on the canvas after the Test team completed a 4-0 series whitewash over the tourists.

Bailey, who is yet to make his international debut in any format, will lead his country into battle in the inaugural T20 INTL to be played at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday.

"When you're playing for your country I don't think you're going out there thinking 'we'll take it easy on them this time', I think every game is about having your foot on their throat," Bailey said on the eve of the historic ANZ Stadium clash.

"We've spoken about the great energy that they (the Test team) have provided and the great start and the great feeling amongst that group and how we feel like they've set a real standard."

"And we've talked about that as a Twenty20 group as well, continuing that and allowing the one-day side to have that feeling when they get together as well.

"We don't get together as the Twenty20 group that often, up until the World Cup in six months time we've got six games, so every opportunity we get to hit the ground running and make a really big impression we have to take."

Bailey, who takes over the T20 captaincy reins from Cameron White, added when asked his expectations for the team in the upcoming two-game series against India and beyond: "I think consistency's a really important word for Twenty20, I think that's the hardest thing to be as a Twenty20 team."

"The one thing I'm really excited about the group that we've got here for this week is that it's full of match winners but their consistent match winners, it's not too sporadic and it's not too hit and miss."

"And I think one point of difference that we can have in Australia is that we can be the fittest, we can be the best fielding side and we can be the hardest working."

"It's a bit of a fluky game, you do need a slice of luck to go your way but as they say the harder you work the luckier you get."

Meanwhile, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is confident the tourists can turn things around quickly in the shorter format.

"It's (changing formats) not something that's very easy because we play with a lot of emotion, Indians are known to be emotional people, but it's not something that we have not done in the past," Dhoni said at the SCG on Tuesday.

"In England following the Test series (defeat last year), we went into the ODIs the boys performed really well ... so we're not really worried and hopefully it will go our way."

"We can't really think too much ahead ... we'll look to do well in (the two T20s) and then gain confidence and look to do well in the ODI series."

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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