Oz selectors may drop Bailey to fix batting woes for Proteas tour

Australian selectors may consider altering the batting order and dropping George Bailey in order to fix team's batting woes before taking on World No.1 Test team South Africa for the three-Test tour, starting February 12.

Tasmanian captain George Bailey may be replaced by Alex Doolan as Australia looks to strengthen their batting for tour of South Africa.

Both may tour South Africa, but Doolan is all set to play at number three, with all-rounder Shane Watson moving down to number six, forcing Bailey out of the side, news.com.au reports.

Bailey, 31, is the only Australian who underperformed during the Ashes, averaging just 26.

Of the 11 players only pacers Ryan Harris (23) and Peter Siddle (6) had a worse average than Bailey, while spinner Nathan Lyon scored 60 runs without being dismissed.

As a result, the selectors may choose 12 or 13 players for the beginning of the tour, leaving one or two to compete in shield matches so they play extra cricket.