Sunday 9 August 2015 15:28, UK
Darren Lehmann expects Steve Smith to be confirmed as Australia's Test captain soon and feels he will prove to be a success.
Australia coach Lehmann says a number of tough calls will need to be made in the wake of their heavy Ashes defeat, but one of the easiest will be Smith taking over from retiring skipper Michael Clarke.
Clarke confirmed after Saturday's defeat at Trent Bridge that he would leave international cricket after the final Test at the Kia Oval, his final duty being to hand the Ashes urn back to Alastair Cook.
Smith captained Australia against India on home soil in their last international summer, not long after the tragic death of Philip Hughes, and was able to see them to a 2-0 series victory after Clarke suffered a recurrence of his back problems.
Lehmann said: “We lost one of our greats and when you lose someone as great a player as Michael was – and a leader – you’ve got to find the next man and that I would think, with board approval, that would be Steve Smith.
"He’ll be aggressive as all Australian captains have been, but I think he’ll work out what works for him on and off the field the best.
“He did a great job in a caretaker role for us under really tough circumstances, (following the death of Philip Hughes). I think he’ll grow and be a really good leader. I think it improved Michael’s batting and hopefully it’s the same for Steven. He’s a good player.”
England coach Trevor Bayliss echoed Lehmann's thoughts about Smith, as he said: "He's shown it already in Test cricket earlier this year
"He's a very proactive type of captain. I think he'll do a fantastic job, and certainly has the respect of the rest of his team-mates. They know he is one hell of a player, and a very good captain."
Clarke's retirement might not be the last from the current squad, with 10 of the 17-man squad selected for the tour aged 30 or over, and Lehmann was unable to offer any guarantees for future selections.
“There are going to be tough calls somewhere,” added Lehmann.
“We’re not afraid to make the tough call but you’ve got to also look after Australian cricket in the right way and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the right things by the players both old and new.
“For us it’s about moving forward so working out what our best line-up is in different conditions and making sure we’ve got players who can adapt between spinning wickets and seaming wickets, making sure they can cover both formats really well.”
Watch coverage of the final Investec Ashes Test from the Kia Oval live on Sky Sports Ashes - coverage starts on August 20 at 10.00am.
