George Bailey

George Bailey had been on the Australian domestic cricket scene for a decade when he made his international debut in early 2012, yet few men have had such a meteoric rise. If that seems a contradiction, consider that Bailey went from uncapped to captain with nothing in between. Australia were searching for a new leader of their Twenty20 side and the Tasmanian Bailey was one of the most respected state skippers, and was thrust into the role to replace Cameron White. It made him the first man since Dave Gregory in the first Test match in 1877 to be named captain in his debut for Australia in any format. Over the next couple of years Bailey worked his way into Australia's team in all three forms of the game, and was part of the unchanged XI that delivered an Ashes whitewash in 2013-14.

However, while he made contributions in the Test team and T20 side, it was as an ODI batsman that Bailey shone brightest. A destructive striker capable of changing a match within a few overs, Bailey enjoyed an especially prolific ODI year in 2013 and at his peak was ranked the No.2 ODI batsman in the world. He was also frequently used as a stand-in captain in the one-day side and led Australia at the start of the 2015 World Cup, when Michael Clarke was injured. One of the most respected men in Australian cricket, Bailey was viewed as a mature and adaptable captain, and led Australia in two World T20 campaigns before resigning the T20 captaincy in 2014 to focus on ODIs and playing more first-class cricket. A native of Launceston, Bailey is the great-great-grandson of George Herbert Bailey, who was part of Australia's 1878 touring squad to England.
ESPNcricinfo staff