Australia announced Steve Smith as Pat Cummins’ deputy on Friday, however selectors might have missed a chance to develop one of the nation’s finest young players.
On the same day that former captain Tim Paine took an extended mental health break from cricket, Cummins was installed as Australia’s 47th Test captain.
Smith, who was suspended in 2018 from the national set up for a year, returned to hold his first leadership position since the infamous sandpaper incident.
With David Warner unable to captain due to his leadership ban and a lack of demonstrated leadership among the other consistent members of the national squad, it’s easy to understand why selectors turned back to Smith.
However, The Courier Mail’s Robert Craddock would have liked to see Marnus Labuschagne announced as a co-vice-captain.
The 27-year-old has been a revelation since his national debut in 2018, averaging over 60 with the bat and becoming the first Australian since Ricky Ponting to consistently hold down the no. 3 position.
Craddock was asked on SEN Drive whether there were any other options to partner Cummins.
“I believe it was talked about for two minutes, just to cover all bases, the possibility of Usman Khawaja coming into the team, (he's a) successful Queensland captain, very experienced, he could have done the role that Smith did,” he replied.
“But yeah, he might not even play in the first Test.
“And Marnus Labuschagne, who no one is pushing as a leader at all.
“It disappoints me, I would have liked to see him a joint vice-captain with Smith, you could take Marnus on a journey.”
Labuschagne has only been in the Test team for three years and hasn't previously been seen as a leader due to his ‘boyish’ nature.
While he’s far from the finished product, Craddock believes many former captains have been in similar positions throughout their career, however, they all “grow up”.
“There will be cricket officials listening to this saying, ‘Marnus is too much of a boy, he’s a little puppy, he’s that sort of guy, he’s not a leader’,” Craddock continued.
“But we remember when Ricky Ponting was the mischievous kid who used to have a few extra drinks, Michael Clark had the blonde tips and was a bit all over the shop, when Steven Waugh wouldn’t say boo to a goose and was really quiet, when Allan Border never wanted to be Test captain.
“All of those guys matured, you’ve got to give a guy a chance to mature and grow, encourage him.
“I know Shane Warne was pushing strongly for Marnus to be vice-captain, and I really get it.
“Some of these guys start out very young in the head and they suddenly grow up.
“Steve Smith, remember when he couldn’t get a date to the Allan Border Medal and he was the scraggy kid who was no one’s idea of a Test captain.
“They all grow eventually, that’s the thing about Marnus, the one regret.
“I wouldn’t have minded seeing him be joint vice-captain.”
Cummins and Smith will begin their new journey as the faces of Australian cricket when the Ashes begin on December 8 in Brisbane.