Tim Paine sexting scandal: Steve Smith is obvious choice as vice captain in new Aussie Test set up
The next Test captain should be a formality. But the choice of his deputy will be just as important. And for that, there is only one choice.
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When the smoke clears after Tim Paine’s stunning resignation, Australia must face up to its most important leadership call of recent times.
It’s not the appointment of Pat Cummins as Test captain which should be a formality. It’s the choice of his vice-captain which is more important than it has even been.
Steve Smith is the best choice for the team. It won’t please everyone but Australia should just pick him.
When Smith was shunted out of the captaincy three years ago, it was Paine who had to weather the shockwaves of the ball tampering scandal.
Now Cummins will have to absorb the unrest which comes with sudden exits just as Allan Border did when Kim Hughes resigned in tears and Ian Chappell did when Bill Lawry was suddenly sacked towards the end of an Ashes series.
Captain’s resignations seem like volcano explosions which make every fibre of the cricket community quiver, but life goes on – the key for Australia is to give Cummins as much high quality on field assistance as it can.
As a fast bowler, Cummins has an enormous workload already. A seasoned, steady guiding hand like Smith beside him will help smooth those stormy waters, particularly when Cummins is bowling.
Life beyond the Ashes is gruelling for Australia with tours of Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka over the next two years – Cummins will have to bowl through exhaustion. He will need an experienced wingman.
Paine entered the fray as captain mid-Test in South Africa in the middle of a team crisis and he will now leave after a crisis of his own making which he felt was behind him.
Cricket Australia says it did not find out about the incident until after Paine had been appointed Test captain, which raises the question of whether it would have appointed him had it known.
And that’s why it could not go back to Smith this time because it needs a White Knight with a toothpaste smile given another captain has fallen in the wake of an unsavoury incident.
Smith wanted to return as captain but the vice-captaincy suits him more for three reasons.
Firstly, he would not be a dart board for negative publicity from people who feel he should never be allowed back. Secondly, the job won’t mega-stress him in the way the captaincy did.
And the final factor is that one of the best ways he can rebuild respect from the public is by doing something everyone sports fan admires - putting in effort so someone else can get the reward.
The big question is whether Smith would be big enough to accept the vice-captain role and attack it with gusto. Few do.
Australia is renowned for producing excellent captains but not excellent deputies, often making the mistake of choosing men who are focused on being a future leader rather than making the man in charge look good.
As a former captain who wants to lead again, Smith could find the all but anonymous deputy leadership very much a consolation prize.
But here’s the thing. If Smith took the role, and did it selflessly, it could even do more for his public image and his country than being captain.
Teammate’s shock at Paine bombshell
- Liz Walsh
Australian middle-order batsman Travis Head says the culture of the Australian Test squad will be strong enough to weather the controversy of their captain, Tim Paine, resigning amid a sexting scandal less than three weeks before the First Ashes Test.
Head, who was this week named in Australia’s 15-player Ashes squad, was in the middle of a press conference at Adelaide Oval on Friday afternoon when news of Paine’s shock resignation began to filter through.
Head said it was difficult to answer specific questions about the situation, because he had been entirely unaware of it beforehand.
“It’s a tough one at the moment to go into any of that because I don’t know the ins and outs, I haven’t spoken to Tim or the boys, I guess over the next 24-to-48 hours we’ll know more about it,” he said.
But the 27-year-old said the side would regroup ahead of the First Test starting in Brisbane on December 8.
“I think the group’s in a great space, a lot like the (world champion) T20 group, this group’s played a lot of series together, we’re in a great space, everyone gets along really well, so what will be over the next 24-to-48 hours will be and we’ll move on,” he said.
“It’s hard to comment on what’s going on at the moment, but as a whole, with the culture and where the team’s at, what you see with the T20 squad I think is very similar to the Test squad, so I think Australian cricket as a whole with the guys we’ve got in, we’ve got good people and we’re fully behind everyone.”
The question of who will captain Australia in the Ashes in Paine’s absence will now be front-and-centre, with Head suggesting quick Pat Cummins could be likely elevated from vice to lead the team.
“Obviously Pat’s been well spoken about, named as vice-captain, it’s hard to go past him, or give him the opportunity to, he’s someone who oozes leadership, not only in the way he presents himself and speaks and the way he goes about things and the way he trains, but also when he’s on the field,” Head said.
Questions also immediately turn to who will replace Paine in the wicketkeeping position, with Head’s Redbacks teammate and Australia A ‘keeper, Alex Carey, in the frame.
“(Carey’s) got a great opportunity in the A tour, it’s great to see him in that squad, he’s deserved that squad, he probably hasn’t started the season as well as he’d like, but the way he’s hitting the ball, the way he’s moving and how he’s working at training is great to see,” Head said.
“I think the A tour game will be a fantastic opportunity for him.
“I think he’ll take that opportunity, he is really close to getting a big score and he’s working extremely hard, but he’s in a great space as well, he’s keeping exceptionally well, his keeping has never been an issue for Alex, and he’s working extremely hard on his batting, so fingers crossed he gets plenty of runs in the inter-squad game (from December 1 at Redlands Cricket Club) and then the A game.”
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