With Brad Haddin in serious doubt for the first Test and Michael Clarke sweating on a hamstring injury, there is a possibility that both captain and vice captain will be out for the first Test against India.
With this in a mind here are some of the candidates vying to be Australia’s next Test skipper
Shane Watson
Took the captaincy against India last year for one Test and would be the favourite to do it again. He would be the most experienced Test match player in the side if Clarke and Haddin are both out.
The question is how would the captaincy affect his batting?
Steve Smith
Considered by most to be Clarke’s logical successor and has had experience captaining the Sydney Sixers in the BBL. So it would be logical to try Smith as skipper at the top level and see if he’s got what it takes. Big question is if he is ready to take on such a big responsibility.
Ryan Harris
Not even a certain selection for the first Test but Ryno has bundles of experience at Test match level and is the ultimate team man. When recovering from his injury Harris tried his hand at coaching and did a very good job, so he knows his stuff. Could be a smoky.
Dave Warner
If you want aggressive captaincy, then Warner’s your man. Could be a left-field option that could provide outside the box thinking. Like Smith he has had experience skippering in the BBL and if he will get Australia playing a very entertaining brand of cricket.
George Bailey
Would be a Mike Brearley-like selection. Currently not in the Test side but has proved to be a very good skipper in the absence of Clarke in one-day cricket. So if he was in the side he would be a logical option.
Bailey played five Tests against England last summer and wasn’t terrible, scoring two half centuries, but was dropped for the South Africa series. There would be a vacancy open in the middle order but the likes of Phil Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Michael Klinger and Joe Burns have all scored more runs in first class cricket.
Considering Australia have never been conservative like the Poms it is unlikely that Bailey would be selected just because he is a good captain.
So Roarers, if Clarke and Haddin are both unavailable who would you like to see leading the side at the Gabba?
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The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
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