Australia makes call on Tim Paine’s replacement as Test cricket captain

Just weeks out from the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, Australia is searching for a new Test skipper after Tim Paine resigned over his sexting scandal.

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The wicketkeeper is giving up the captaincy but can still be selected in the final XI for the clash against England starting on December 8 — the difference being he’ll be taking orders, rather than dishing them out if he gets the nod.

More than 75,000 fans have voted in a poll run by news.com.au asking who they’d like to see take the reins from Paine — and the answer is surprising.

Vice-captain Pat Cummins is considered by many pundits as the frontrunner for the full-time role. At the time of writing, the fast bowler had received 35 per cent of the 75,894 votes registered in our poll.

But eclipsing him by eight per cent — with 43 per cent of the vote — is Smith.

The man who was banned from international cricket for a year — and suspended from holding any leadership positions within the game for a further 12 months — after the ball tampering scandal in 2018 is the people’s choice to take over in our latest time of crisis.

Smith took over the captaincy after Michael Clarke retired in 2015 and took his run-scoring feats to new heights. But he paid the ultimate price for looking the other way when David Warner and Cameron Bancroft conspired to bring sandpaper onto the field at Newlands.

The 32-year-old has said publicly he would be keen to lead Australia again if given the opportunity, but there have long been question marks around whether Cricket Australia would be wise to turn back to the man who failed to take action during the team’s darkest hour.

No doubt Smith learnt plenty in his exile and matured as a person, not just a cricketer — traits that would serve him well in a possible second coming as skipper. But some believe there may be too much baggage from the infamous South Africa scandal.

If Smith were to become captain again and he or the team steps out of line, you can only imagine what the reaction will be. Just look at his crease-scratching incident from last summer’s series against India and the storm that sparked as he was accused of “cheating”.

But that doesn’t appear to be a concern for more than 32,600 news.com.au readers, who gave Smith their vote of confidence compared to the 26,500 who are on Cummins’ side.

The captaincy contenders

We’ve run through Smith’s credentials, but who else can be considered a replacement for Paine?

Pat Cummins

Cummins was already being talked about as the man to take over when Paine, 36, eventually decided to retire, and has all the attributes Australian cricket fans want in a leader.

Humble, respectful and universally admired by cricket lovers around the world, the pin-up boy of the game Down Under seems like a natural-born leader.

However, there are concerns about giving a bowler the captaincy — particularly a fast bowler. Will Cummins be able to concentrate on setting fields when he’s tired from his own efforts with the ball? What if he needs to go off the field for a break after a 10-over spell on a 40C day?

We don’t know a lot about Cummins’ cricket brain and tactical nous, given he’s rarely had the chance to display those traits — apart from a brief stint as NSW captain last summer. He might just need an opportunity to ease the doubters’ concerns.

If promoted, Cummins would be Australia’s first fast bowling captain since Ray Lindwall in the 1950s. Our most well-known captains in the past handful of decades have been batsmen — think Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Ian and Greg Chappell, Kim Hughes and Bill Lawry. But will Paine’s resignation finally force a change in tradition?

Marnus Labuschagne

The batting prodigy of the Australian team has been touted by some as a potential future captain, but question marks linger over Labuschagne’s maturity.

Earlier this year Paine endorsed Labuschagne’s credentials as a national skipper down the line and the Queenslander himself said he harbours ambitions to lead his country one day.

“For me, absolutely, I would love to captain Australia,” Labuschagne told The Daily Telegraph this month. “Everyone would love that.

“But for me, it’s about making sure I put the team first and when you’re talking about being a leader, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need the title. You can be a leader without the title and I think that’s the role I can play.”

However, Labuschagne admits he will need to adjust his on-field behaviour if he wants to assume what is colloquially known as the most important job in Australia after the Prime Minister. Earlier this year reports emerged Justin Langer raked him over the coals for wanting to take a toasted sandwich onto the field in a Test match, while his enthusiasm can sometimes get the 27-year-old into trouble.

Last summer Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds were caught on TV telling Labuschagne to “just f***ing bat properly”, not impressed with his exaggerated antics at the crease.

The right-hander has also been criticised for showing visible disappointment at umpires’ decisions, and last month came under fire for a wild appeal in a Sheffield Shield game that some pundits called a “bad look”.

David Warner

Like Smith, Warner was banned for a year for his role in the ball tampering saga but copped an added punishment when told he would never be allowed to hold a leadership position in Australian cricket again.

Still, rules are meant to be broken, right?

Warner has captained brilliantly over the course of a lengthy Indian Premier League career, proving he has a smart cricket brain that would lend itself to leading a team, particularly in the field.

It’s a million-to-one longshot that Cricket Australia would do a 180 on its position and put Warner in a position of power, but never say never.

Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood

The GOAT is a fan favourite, the most experienced player in the team with 100 Tests and has the responsibility of leading his comrades in a rendition of Under the Southern Cross after victories.

However, Lyon often seems happy to underplay his own role and heap praise on his teammates, so may not be comfortable under the spotlight the captaincy brings.

No-nonsense fast bowler Hazlewood is another experienced candidate with 55 Tests to his name and a left-field option selectors have at their disposal.

Originally published as ‘Australia’ makes call on Tim Paine’s replacement as Test cricket captain