Australian selector Mark Waugh has given the strongest indication yet that George Bailey will be the fall guy for Michael Clarke, who looks set to return for the co-hosts' clash with Bangladesh at the Gabba on Saturday.
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Waugh admitted the national selection panel's job had been made more difficult by Bailey, who played a crucial role in Australia's thumping first-up World Cup win against England at the MCG on the weekend.
The stand-in skipper came to the crease at an awkward stage for the Australians, who were 3-70, before making a half-century and being involved in a steadying 146-run fourth-wicket partnership with Aaron Finch.
"Michael Clarke, all going well, he's ready to go so if he's fit and well he's going to slot back in – it's just a matter of who we leave out which is going to be tough," Waugh told Triple M's Hot Breakfast program on Monday.
"George Bailey was excellent on Saturday, his partnership with Finch got us out of a lot of trouble so it's going to be a very tough decision, someone's going to be unlucky but that's the game isn't it. You've only got 11 spots."
The selectors' headaches don't stop there, though, with pressure mounting on all-rounder Shane Watson, who made a golden duck on Saturday. He has averaged just 22.2 with the bat in the last 13 months and taken only two wickets in the same period.
"It's going to be very tough, which is a great position to be in. I mean when you've got all these class players out of your side it means you've got a strong squad," Waugh said. "We'll have to sit down and think about it, there's a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and the weekend, there might be someone pull up with a sore hammy eating breakfast so you just don't know."
Making things tougher for Watson to retain his spot is the form of fellow all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh, who were two of Australia's best against England with 66 and 5-33 respectively.
"He's bowled well but just hasn't had the luck and he got a lot of that luck on Saturday obviously [with] five wickets," Waugh said of Marsh. "His ball-striking is very dangerous too with the bat in that middle order so once again he's another player that deserves a spot in the side."
However, a time-frame on James Faulkner's return to the line-up remains uncertain. "Faulkner's probably a different case, he's got that side strain which are very tricky, so it's a bit hard to really gauge when he's going to be back," Waugh said.
