Is the captaincy affecting Steve Smith's batting prowess?

The whole purpose of "unimaginative filed placements" is so everyone can find their documents. If the filing was imaginative, it would be fun trying to locate things...but not overly effective. It would be a bit like your imaginative typing! We'd never know what you meant to say.

I do not mind his technique or the perceived lack of it. In spite of his technical inadequacies, he has managed to become one of the 2 main run scorers along with Warner. Its his captaincy that I have issue with. Unimaginative filed placements and bowling changes accompanied by a very poor shoulder dropping attitude when the chips are down. To compound matters, he hardly seems to communicate with the players not have I seen him making a concerted effort on-field to galvanize the team. Warner is both proactive and communicative with a great attitude and bundles of energy. With the team coming off 4 straight loses, Warner can hardly do any worse as captain.

That was obviously a typo. I meant to say, "Smith is not a good captain. Period."

Gee, It wasn't that long ago fans were screaming for Clarke to p*ss off so the brilliant young gun Smith could take over. How quickly players are lifted up by fans, & how quickly they are dropped. Fickle, fickle people. Or maybe, don't pass judgement too quickly, lest you be forced to eat your words.

This is genuinely moronic. Cook has been panned throughout his career for conservative and lack of ingenuity. Kohli for complete lack of temperament while in Australia. Captains look great when they are winning and bad when they are losing. Where was this criticism when he went undefeated through 11 tests.

I'm with you Will.

not a good period captain

Australia loses its first home test since 2012 and the sky is falling in. These articles have been going on since 2008 when Ponting was captain. The team loses, blame the captain, the selectors, the coach, the assistance coaches etc. Just admit SA were a better team at the WACA. Their away record is outstanding, especially when considering that they won the toss and they can set the pace of the game. SA have lost 1 match away from home since 2010 when they have won the toss and batted first. Really the level of ignorance around 90% of cricket fans is appalling. Chopping and changing never works long term. People need to have the patience and admit that a gun fast bowler cut us down on the fastest wicket in the world. Anyway, stop the hubris and enjoy the game.

wrong forum bro'

I don't think anyone bags Clarke's on field captaincy / tactical nous..... It's his people management skills that he cops the bagging for.

Michael Clarke was the prototype of a modern captain, yet Australians bag him incessantly.

Regarding Faf - The French clearly make better captains whether it be Cricket or Rugby ?

While I don't hold Smith in high regard as captain, he's hardly the worst going around.... And when you throw Cook up as a good captain, that will do me. Cook is the most negative / boring captain that walks international cricket. Thanks but no thanks. Kohli and Faf are the prototype captains you want. Aggressive and decisive.

I don't think captaincy is affecting his batting but I do have concerns with his captaincy. He appears very conservative, a bit like Bill Lawry when he was captain. As captain, he did the right thing by not being a selector, that just puts too much pressure on any captain. Who to replace him? Te only certainties in the team at the moment are Smith, Warner, Nevill, Starc and maybe Khawja based on his last innings. There's not a lot there. Warner did well when captaining in place of Smith but how would Smith react to being dumped as captain. There is a precedent with Yallop being dumped as captain in 1979 but playing on until 1984.

Smith is one of the worst captains I've ever seen. He should watch tomorrow's India v England test match and learn a few things from the 2 best captains in cricket - Cook and Kohli.

Thank you all for your viewpoints. Hope Smith proves us wrong by winning the series 2-1 and hitting a ton or two.

Thanks Don :)

Agreed Kersi. Have seen Smith both as an Aussie captain as well as an IPL captain, I just think he is uninspiring at best, clueless much of the time. Having said that, this is a transitory phase for the team, and his captaincy cannot be held up as the sole cause for failure. What I really didn't like was however the lack of grit and intent to bat on through his bad form to take his country closer to saving the test. The better captains out there, a Misbah, or Cook or Kohli would have done just that.

Give him a bit more time. I remember that many NZers were calling for Richie McCaw to be dumped as All Black captain after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but he learnt from that and became one of the greatest captains in the history of sport.

I have a feeling that possibly there will be an 'announcement' in the near future. Smith will rescind the captaincy. Handed to Warner. It is obvious Warner is a natural captain.