The pitchforks were out, but Bailey and Test selectors can now breathe easy

The pitchforks were out for Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey when Nic Maddinson trudged off for an ugly 33-ball duck on day one of the first Test against South Africa in Durban. After being carved up by Matthew Hayden for “promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket” by selecting Maddinson – who is without a first-class match to his name in 579 days – you suspect Bailey may have been feeling a little uneasy sitting in the Australian dugout.