Tim Paine set to be displaced as Aussies ponder rising wicketkeeper Alex Carey as World Cup skipper
TIM Paine isn’t expected to play ODI cricket again, so, with the World Cup looming large, the Aussies are sifting through a variety of leadership candidates. Inexperience is seen as no deterrent.
ALEX Carey has emerged as a chief candidate for the World Cup captaincy as Australia fights to piece together its leadership puzzle.
Tim Paine is locked in as Australia’s Test skipper ahead of the upcoming series against Pakistan, but beyond that all balls are in the air.
Selectors are on the hunt for a replacement Test vice-captain as well as a new skipper and deputy for the one-day team.
Paine isn’t expected to play ODI cricket again after struggling against England in June, and 26-year-old Carey is not only set to assume the wicketkeeping gloves from him but is also firmly in the conversation to take over the helm heading into next year’s World Cup defence.
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It would be a stunning show of faith in a keeper with only three ODI caps for his country, but Carey’s shock claim to the throne reflects the enormity of the void that’s been left by Steve Smith being banned from captaincy for two years and David Warner for life.
Natural leader Mitchell Marsh is likely Australia’s preferred heir apparent across the formats, but the all-rounder’s history of injury problems casts significant doubt over whether he can be trusted with captaincy at this point in his career.
White ball destroyer Aaron Finch received praise for his recent efforts in charge of the Twenty20 side, but it’s understood there remain concerns about the Victorian’s tactical abilities as a skipper.
Carey has already been thrust into the vice-captaincy of the Twenty20 international team and the Australia A one-day and four-day sides that have arrived in India for a crucial tour which promises to answer a lot of questions for selectors ahead of October’s two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE.
Marsh has a golden opportunity for Australia A to stake his claim for the Test vice-captaincy against Pakistan. But could he actually skipper Australia?
“I think he can be a potential leader, definitely. I played with Mitch when he first came into the professional arena and he’s a terrific man. But his fitness and everything is obviously of concern,” said former champion all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
“You need a bloke who is there pretty much 90 per cent of the time, but that’s something I’m sure he knows about.”
Test great Shane Warne this week shone a spotlight on just how much is riding on the desperate hunt for Australia’s next true leader, as the spin king openly questioned Tim Paine’s future in the role.
“The Australian way is always to pick your best team (first). There is a lot of talk about that, should Tim Paine be in the side?” Warne told Fox Sports.
“I don’t think we should just make a captain and then fit a side around him. I think the captain and vice-captain should still be up for grabs.”
Paine is a certainty to captain against Pakistan, and deservedly so.
However, Warne may be alluding to what happened during the one-dayers in England back in June, when Paine was thrust in as skipper, not because he was the best keeper (Carey had already been penciled in), but because of the leadership crisis that had just taken place in South Africa.
Selectors will be prioritising picking the best XI players from now on.
Paine will be 34 around the same time as the Test summer kicks off against India and with only one first-class hundred to his name over 12 years, the Tasmanian’s performances will have to remain at a high level to avoid scrutiny ahead of an Ashes year in 2019, particularly given Carey’s progression.
Throwing Carey into the deep end with the ODI captaincy at home to South Africa in November would be a big ask, but at some point Australia needs to make a final call on who they want to lead the all-important World Cup defence from next May.
Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Nathan Lyon (vice-captaincy only) are roughies in the conversation.
Originally published as Tim Paine set to be displaced as Aussies ponder rising wicketkeeper Alex Carey as World Cup skipper