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There now appears to be a case brewing for appointing a new captain to replace Steve Smith, given Australia are staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat.
We’re just four days into the international season, and Australia are playing against a South African team weakened not only by the absence of the world’s best batsman, AB de Villiers, but of its leading bowler, Dale Steyn.
Smith will lead the team through this series, then against the number two side, Pakistan, and in a daunting away series in India. That’s ten Tests against arguably the game’s toughest opponents. There’s the possibility Australia will struggle to win a match in that lot.
A wipeout, or near enough to it, would leave Smith’s position as skipper untenable. But there’s no way he can be left out of the team in the foreseeable future, with his remarkable average of 58.55 after 44 Tests clear testimony to his great batting skills.
Yet the decision to send him home during the Sri Lanka tour gave notice that the captaincy is not necessarily a given right until he retires from the game.
So who could take over the leadership?
David Warner is the vice-captain and the obvious choice, but there’s a crucial query – what impact would taking over the leadership have on his batting?
I think there’s only one other option, all-rounder Moises Henriques, who has led the NSW Blues with aplomb over the past couple of seasons. But Henriques would need to come into the Test side very soon and state his case with big runs – and a few wickets – as replacement for Mitchell Marsh over the rest of the season.
Who else would come into calculations Roarers?
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