Veteran News Corp cricket writer Robert Craddock believes Australia took a “gamble” by handing Josh Hazelwood the ODI captaincy over Steve Smith – one that could come back to haunt the Aussies.
Hazlewood led the Aussies to a 72-run win on Saturday after Pat Cummins was rested. Steve Smith was promoted to the leadership when Cummins last missed a Test, but this time the former skipper was overlooked.
Hazlewood said after the win that he seemingly shapes as the first-choice fill-in captain, despite never previously leading his country in a glittering international career.
Smith – who has previously led Australia 51 times in the ODI format before his leadership ban – looks to be in fine form after two effortless knocks against England, and Craddock hopes the snub won’t derail the 33-year-old’s confidence.
“I’m all about Steve Smith's mindset next year when Australia’s got the toughest year they’ve ever had in cricket history,” Craddock began.
“Four Tests in India, a Word Championship Test in England, a five-Test Ashes series in England and then a 50-over World Cup in India.
“It’s all offshore this relentless grind and I want a vice-captain locked in behind at Cummins who’s really motivated, switched on and up for the challenge.
“It’s such a subtle role the vice-captaincy, it always gets underrated… I think to snub Smith from the captaincy in that game on the weekend, you do run the risk of just flattening him a little bit
“I’m not going to say I know what his mindset was, but it was a snub. He was snubbed from the captaincy, Josh Hazelwood did a fine job, I’m sure he could do it, but if Smith’s vice-captain and Test vice-captain and you promoted him for the Test in Adelaide when Cummins couldn’t play… it is a snub.”
To add to the confusion, there’s yet to be any clarification on why the call was made.
There’s no standout reason why Smith wasn’t given the opportunity, adding intrigue to who will be given the captaincy on Tuesday when Australia and England meet for the final ODI should Cummins not return.
“No one knows. It was not explained,” Craddock stated.
“Ben Horne covered the game for us (News Corp), he said there were quite a lot of ex-players littered through the press box and they all said, ‘what is the thinking here’?
“There was no actual reason given for it other than he (Hazlewood) would be the captain. Pat Cummins had only been appointed 50-over captain for one game before that… nothing against Josh Hazelwood who’s a ripper guy, he’s got a nice captain’s temperament… (but) to snub Smith from the captaincy at this stage, to me it’s a gamble.”
Smith's leadership ban after sandpapergate ended in March 2020, while there's also a renewed push for David Warner to be allowed a leadership position once again.