Just go read the original article insteadAS Australia surveys its barren wasteland of leadership options, the much-maligned but late blooming Steve Smith is emerging as a potential future Test captain.
With Michael Clarke becoming a Test by Test proposition with his increasingly troublesome dodgy back, the focus is again on Australia’s captaincy quandary post-Clarke.
The appointments of Clarke, Haddin and Bailey therefore left only one leadership position of any sort to be bestowed upon a young player. To be vice-captain of Australia A may not sound like much, but the selectors' choice of Steve Smith was instructive. While Inverarity noted "we couldn't fit Steve in" the Test squad for England, this does not mean he is far from calculations for the future. On the contrary, Smith is actually the closest thing Australian cricket has right now to a national captain in training.
Steve Smith defends impact of Twenty20 cricket on young players' technique | News.com.auSteve Smith is defying a back condition similar to that suffered by Michael Clarke to thrive in Test cricket, and hopes to build on his Ashes tour of England with a prolific summer.
Read more: Ashes 2013: Steve Smith feels Michael Clarke's pain
Sheffield Shield returns to prominence and Steve Smith shines bright | thetelegraph.com.auSTEVE Smith insists Twenty20 cricket is making young batsmen like himself better, not worse.
Only days after retired Test skipper Mark Taylor lamented the lack of batting talent worldwide, and questioned if shortened versions of the game were to blame, Sydney Sixers star Smith has come out swinging for the format promoting just that.
"I certainly don’t think that’s the case," Smith said when asked if T20 was ruining young batsmen like himself. "If anything I think it’s enhancing our batting skills.
But Warner and Clarke were not the sights for sore Australian eyes. That was the perpetual motion of Steve Smith who - believe it or not - might be the difference between a competitive Australian performance this summer and another pounding.