Australia chief selector George Bailey says will recuse himself if there is vote on Tim Paine's position

Australia chief selector and former captain George Bailey said that he would not cast his vote if it came down to that in deciding whether Tim Paine should be part of the Ashes squad or not due to his closeness with the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Australia chief selector George Bailey said that he would step aside from any potential situation in which the panel has to vote for or against keeping wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine in the Ashes squad. Paine abruptly stepped down as Australia captain after lewd messages that he had sent to a female colleague in Cricket Tasmania in 2017 came to light just days before the start of the Ashes.

Paine is the only specialist wicketkeeper in Australia's 15-man squad to face England but selector George Bailey confirmed he is no lock for the first Ashes test starting in Brisbane on Dec. 8.