It is early 2018, Australia have just won the Ashes 3-1 after a hard-fought contest. Batsmen Steve Smith, Dave Warner, Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja all performed admirably against the English attack and the bowlers were led by a strong pace attack of Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
In 2017, the Test team put up a good fight against India in India, eventually losing the four Test series 2-1, having drawn one Test thanks to a strong batting performance and got a win thanks to an amazing display of pace and reverse swing by Starc and co. on the one pace-friendly deck in Dharamasala.
In India, Smith continued to lead by example with the bat, making plenty of runs, but was criticised for the way he used his spinners as a captain on the field.
Going into the Ashes, there was little certainty over who Australia’s first-choice spinner was, with both Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe having done little in India to demand selection, and Ashton Agar and Mitch Swepson not getting much of a chance.
During the Ashes, Lyon and O’Keefe were both tried as the lone spinners but made little impact in the series. Throughout both of the last two big Test series, Smith has been accused of letting the game get away from him at times and not rotating his bowlers well.
Over-reliance on Starc contributed to an injury to the star pace man and now it seemed the same fate looked likely to befall the fragile Cummins. Questions were also asked in the media about Smith’s body language and temperament on the field when things were not going his way, with a few high profile incidences of visible disagreements with other players.
Meanwhile, Peter Handscomb had cemented his spot in the team at number five, becoming a key part of the Australian batting order. During the Sheffield shield season 2017-18, whenever Handscomb was not occupied with the Test team, he was back captaining the Vics while Matt Wade was out with the ODI side.
His captaincy style had been complemented by all that watched him and was reaping strong rewards for the Victorians who were looking for their fourth straight Shield title.
With a tough away series in South Africa coming up, Smith and Boof call a press conference to announce to the media and cricket-loving public that Steve Smith has decided to step down from the Test captaincy with immediate effect and that Peter Handscomb would take over as captain of the Australian Test side.
David Warner would remain as vice-captain. The move, explains Darren Lehmann, is to allow Smith the time to concentrate on his batting and to also work on his secondary skill as a part-time leg spinner, in order to contribute more overs during Test matches.
The decision to leapfrog Handscomb into the captaincy and leave Warner as vice captain is a forward looking move, aimed at ensuring stability for years to come. With Handscomb being five years younger than Warner, the Victorian taking the reins would allow for Australia to hopefully keep the same captain for 8-10 years.
What else? Boof Lehmann also announces his retirement, and Dizzy Gillespe is given the coach’s job. Oh well, one can dream.
Brasstacks
Guest
I shudder to think that boof might still be coach in 2018.
MrJSquishy
Roar Pro
The only change I would make for Handscomb is to move him in to wicket keeper. He's not a great keeper, but, he's near enough to Wade's ability anyway and it would free up a spot for another batsman. It's been more luck, than skill, that has kept Wade preferred over Neville (who is a far better keeper). If Neville had been retained with the three new batsmen that came in (Renshaw, Handscomb and Maddinson) these last few Test results would have been the same, if not slightly better (because of a couple of chances that Wade missed).
jonty smith
Roar Guru
The next ashes series, and the one the article alludes to is at home
Andy Hill
Roar Pro
Thanks for all the comments guys- interesting to see the reaction this got! Lot's of strong opinions out there. Personally, I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I have read and heard a fair amount of criticism of Smith's captaincy over the past few months (especially when Australia was loosing against SL and SA) so I thought I would try to imagine a scenario where Smith was not the captain, and how that may possibly come about- whilst trying not to get all gloomy predicting that we would loose 4-0 to India and then loose the Ashes. I guess recent history suggests that the Australians don't like to change their test captains often, unlike other test nations, which could see us stick with Smith for a good number of years. But is that necessarily going to be the case this time? People still complain that Ponting was a great batsman but a mediocre captain- will people be saying the same about Smith in 5-8 years time? Who knows, but I think it is interesting to think of possible scenarios and I would hope some might entertain the possibility that someone else could possibly captain Australia in the next few years- perhaps not Handscomb, but who else? Warner? Head?
Rob
Guest
If I was to predict a future batsmen it would be Matthew Labuschagne in front of Heazlett. Khawaja and Handcomb may struggle in India. Maxwell may shine in India and nail down 6. Something about Head's technique worries me but I like the youngsters from the west Turner, Cartwright and Richardson. WA will be a force in 2 years.The Vic's have a lot of rebuilding coming up with Siddle, Hastings, White, Hussey all winding up their careers, and Maxwell changing States. Wade will be mentally scared from international duties(India) and young Sam Harper will take the gloves for the Vics permanently. Smith will continue to improve as Captain.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Fantastic article. Of course, I read it with the premise that you are intending to be p*ss funny. I mean, a test win in India, an away Ashes series win, Handscomb captain, and Cummins bowling with a red ball are all comic gold. The only thing you may have missed to make it even funnier, is a claim that Wade's keeping in India won us our sole test victory. Keep up the good work.
Alan
Guest
Mate, if Australia wins the next Ashes series 3-1 no-one, absolutely no-one, will be critical of his captaincy.(not even a Victorian). He would be locked in until the 2019 Ashes at least. Doubtful that Handscomb will be captain. I think that Travis Head would have a much better chance.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
After reading this, more likely I think Wade will be nervous and Handscomb will find himself batting below Maxwell in Victoria's batting order.
Ashan D
Roar Pro
Now after reading this Smith will start to ignore Handscomb just as he's doing with Maxwell. He is so paranoid about threats to captaincy or anyone outshining him as a batsman. Explains his negative attitude towards Maxi.
jameswm
Roar Guru
He is being interviewed more as he speaks more coherently than the others.
JoM
Guest
Seems like it. I have read many comments from Victorians on different sites who all say Handscomb should be the next captain and others who say he will be the next captain. No he won't. Two years younger than Smith? The next captain will be someone who is currently between the ages of 20-22 and isn't even in the team yet. I'm really happy for Handscomb that he has started so well, but I also find it interesting that after every game so far the interviews on field have always had him in there somewhere. I wonder what people would say if he fails every game in India.
GM
Guest
I think your crystal ball is more of a snow-dome and its got toilet water in it.
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
Is this more anti-NSW garbage? Smith dropped from the captaincy, Warner overlooked and a sneaky dig at Lyon and O'Keefe in there as well. Far better reading elsewhere on this site.
jameswm
Roar Guru
I saw someone bat who had big wraps on him - maybe it was Heazlett. And he looked good. I'm not so sure on Patterson at 6 - I think maybe Cartwright, Maxwell or Lynn is more likely. But as long as performance decides it, I'm happy. Could easily be Patterson. agreed on the rest. Lyon/SOK will be a battle, Swepson might end up better than both in Australian conditions.
jammel
Guest
I don't think there'll be too many changes over the next 18-24 months actually. Smith will certainly still be captain! Here's where I think we'll be for Tests in 18-24 months' time: Warner Renshaw Khawaja SmithC Handscomb Patterson Whiteman+ Starc Pattinson Hazlewood Lyon Principal reserves: Stonis/Cartwright SOK Cummins Sayers Bird How good is Heazlett? I haven't watched him in the Shield. If anyone has seen him bat, drop down some thoughts?
jameswm
Roar Guru
I reckon Handscomb would be embarrassed if he read the article.
jameswm
Roar Guru
No Khawaja?
Dogs Boddy
Roar Rookie
Let me get this straight. Your whole premise on Smith being dropped from the captaincy revolves around him not bowling Nathan Lyon often enough and because he is a bit grumpy on the field. Is that correct?? Perhaps he has not been bowling Lyon because he has no faith in his ability to tie down an end and control a game. He has not exactly been setting the world on fire lately with his bowling, no matter how much the crowd cheers every time he does anything. I would much prefer that they all shout nice Garry whenever he takes a wicket, but sadly this means that it would not happen often enough to become a "thing". Smith stepping down to concentrate on his part time bowling is fascicle. As for being grumpy, well it didn't do AB any harm. The reason that the skipper gets grumpy is because either things are not going their way, or their team is not doing the job that was asked of them. Smith has had a lot of reason to be grumpy lately, AB had reasons for most of his career. You don't drop a captain because he is unhappy with the teams performance, you make the team perform better. At first I thought this was a comedy piece. Handscomb has played, what, four tests?? This puts him in the spot for a captaincy does it?? What a joke.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Not likely
Robert Seguna
Guest
Dear Andy Hill, I think this article you have written is an insult towards Steve Smith. It really shows when the Australian cricket team are winning their is not a whole lot to write about. Steve Smith is 27 years old & Peter Handscombe is 25 years old. I really can't see a big age gap discrepancy. If you are Steve Smith are you really going to want to retire from the captaincy to concentrate on your batting & bowling. Good luck to Steve Smith as the Australian cricket captain for many years to come. Again I think your article is flawed & you have nothing better to write about. Regards Rob