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Batsman George Bailey quits as Australia Twenty20 captain to focus on Test career

Image: George Bailey: Wants to concentrate on the longer form of the game

George Bailey has stepped down as captain of Australia's T20 side in order to focus on reviving his Test career.

Bailey, 31, will miss the sole T20 against Pakistan in the UAE in October as well as the three games against South Africa in November, with opening batsman Aaron Finch the favourite to succeed him.

Bailey, who made his one-day international debut in 2012 and was part of the Ashes-winning side in the winter only to miss the tour of South Africa in February, took over the T20 captaincy from Cameron White in 2012 and led Australia to 13 wins in 27 games, including the disappointing World T20 campaign which saw Australia crash out in the group stage.

The very end goal is hopefully to play more Test cricket, but more than that it's just about playing the best four-day cricket I can.
George Bailey

He will be available for selection after the South Africa series.

"The very end goal is hopefully to play more Test cricket, but more than that it's just about playing the best four-day cricket I can," Bailey told Cricket Australia. 

"It's the format I find the most challenging and the format that I get the most enjoyment from – it's where my real passion lies.

"Whether concentrating on that ends up in me getting back into the Test squad, it doesn't worry me too much. It's just about playing as well as I can."

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Bailey will continue to play ODI cricket and will lead the side in the three internationals against Pakistan in the UAE if Michael Clarke is still out with a hamstring problem.

"Just the structure and scheduling of T20 is a really big challenge," he added.

"Often it's hard to remember who you had in your squad from one tour to the next, and (there are) a lot of one and two-game series which is quite challenging as well.

"But also we've had the chance to see a number of young guys come through and develop which is exciting. I wanted to give a new captain an opportunity to find his feet and put his mark on that team for the (2016) World Cup."

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