England great Mike Atherton has questioned Steve Smith’s leadership and England’s team selection ahead of the second Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval.
Smith took over from Michael Clarke in 2015 as the national Test captain and served in that role until 2018, when he was outed over his role in the infamous sandpaper debacle in South Africa.
He served his punishment for those crimes in the following years and returned to the vice-captaincy under Pat Cummins.
However, Cummins was ruled out of the second Ashes Test on Thursday afternoon when it emerged he was a close contact of a COVID positive case.
With Smith set to return to the leadership position, Atherton questioned whether he was the best man for the job on SEN Test Cricket.
“I think once you’ve been punished and done your time in any reasonable society there must be a chance for people to come again,” he said.
“The only thing I wonder about Steve Smith, his role as captain generally, he’s so self-absorbed it seems to me as a cricketer, certainly as a batsman, he seems to exist in his own world, this bubble.
“I just wonder about his role generally as captain, I have no problems with him being given the opportunity again, whether he’s the best man for it is another question.
“I’ve always found it odd the slight differential in punishment between Smith and David Warner, I’ve never quite understood that.”
Smith has a 52 per cent win rate as captain and was announced as the ICC’s Test player of the decade last year.
Travis Head will his Smith's deputy for the Test and Cummins is hopeful he’ll be right to play the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, spinner Jack Leach was left off England’s team sheet announced by Joe Root at the toss on Thursday afternoon.
Leach was belted to all corners of the Gabba by the Australian batting line-up in the first Test and his absence at Adelaide isn’t a huge surprise.
However, Atherton finds it “counter-intuitive” that the tourists wouldn't select Leach in spin-friendly conditions given he played in the first Test.
“It’s curious isn’t it, we’re here at Adelaide, there’s not a cloud in the sky, the pitch looks brown and England have five seamers,” Atherton said.
“Last week at the Gabba, the pitch looked tinged with green, it seemed cloudy and overcast and a bit of humidity as well and they went with the spinner.
“It seems curious and counter-intuitive.
“I think it’s one of the problems England have at the moment, they slightly overthink matters and they're always playing a game ahead of themselves rather than the game that’s right in front of them.”