Doherty ‘basically shafted’ by selectors despite being economical: Bailey

MELBOURNE - Tasmanian captain George Bailey has said spinner Xavier Doherty has been “basically shafted” by national selectors, being more economical in domestic one-day cricket this season.

The left-arm tweaker was overlooked for the 15-man squad, in favour of dropped Test bowler Nathan Hauritz, despite having more wickets in domestic one-day cricket this season.

Bailey said he felt incredibly frustrated for Doherty. “It’s hard to know what to tell Xavier, his performances speak for themselves. They’re outstanding and have been for two or three years,” he told AAP.

“He’s clearly Australia’s best performed one-day spinner, domestically. He’s obviously performed really well in the few chances he’s had with Australia, and then he’s just basically shafted,” Bailey said.

Bailey said he was at a loss to explain why selectors hadn’t picked a second spinner for the tournament, which gets underway next month in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, known for producing spin-friendly pitches, The Age reports.

“They’re going to play a World Cup in countries which are traditionally good turners… and they’re going in with one spinner,” Bailey said.

“I think he and Nathan Hauritz would’ve complimented each other beautifully over there. I’m just not sure part-time spin will bowl you to a World Cup victory, but hopefully they will prove me wrong,” he said.

Bailey criticised the selectors for not telling players what they needed to do to improve after they were dropped from the national team. (ANI)