Will players accept Steve Smith as captain after Tim Paine?

At times the job of Australian captain is a much debated role That is again the case following former skipper Steve Smithrsquos response to a query ldquoIf the opportunity did come up again I would be keenrdquoThe opportunity to captain Australia should only arise when the incumbent Tim Paine is either incapacitated or decides hes had enough of an extremely demanding job In Paines case he took over in extenuating circumstances when Smith abrogated his duty by ignoring a case of blatant cheating Since that time Paine has done an admirable job of restoring Australias cricketing reputationThere are a number of questions Cricket Australia CA has to answer before deciding who permanently inherits the captaincy from PaineThe first one probably wont be answered on the basis that it could be incriminating Why didnt Smith and David Warner receive the same punishment regarding their captaincy futureSmith and Warner were guilty of the same crime cheating If anything Smiths crime was greater when he witnessed the plot being hatched in the dressing room he cynically said I dont want to knowItrsquos the captainrsquos job to know what the team is up to at all times and he shouldrsquove put a stop to one of if not the worst crime in the gameSo how come they received different punishments Is there bias involved Was Warner punished more severely because he was the prominent player spokesman during the last MOU scuffleItrsquos always dangerous to assume but this is the only reasonable conclusionNext question will the players accept Smith as their leader bearing in mind his serious error of judgement the last time he was in chargeThe incorrect answer is Hersquos served his punishment so the slate is now cleanrdquoThat might be the correct answer in a law court but it doesnrsquot work that way in a cricket dressing room Respect is a cricket captains greatest ally and without it hersquos flounderingThe correct question is ldquoWill the players unconditionally accept Smith as their captainIrsquod be surprised if the answer was a unanimous ldquoYesrdquoThe last question is simple Who is the best candidate to lead Australia into the futurerdquoThe dilemma CA faces is the lack of obvious candidates to take over when Paine decides to retire The current system for gauging potential captains is flawed and doesnrsquot provide enough opportunities to test leadership skills in a less dramatic atmosphereThe potential candidatesmdashapart from Smithmdashare fast bowler Pat Cummins batsmen Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne and at a pinch wicketkeeper Alex Carey Of those players Cummins is best qualified as hersquos been vicecaptain for some time All things being equal if the vicecaptain doesnrsquot inherit the role then why make the appointmentCumminss main attributes are hes guaranteed a place and hersquos also the most inspirational player in the side The only things counting against him are a lack of captaincy experience and his role as a fast bowler Being a bowlercaptain is an extremely demanding job but it shouldnrsquot automatically bar Cummins from the role There have been bowlers who have been very successful captains itrsquos just that theyrsquore few and far betweenHead is the most experienced firstclass captain but hersquos struggled to establish himself as a Test player Australia doesnrsquot have a history of choosing captains who donrsquot merit a place as a player and that tradition must be maintainedLabuschagne is certainly good enough to hold his place but hersquos had little leadership experience Also he would need to temper his quirky character if he were given the top jobCareyrsquos obvious problem is hersquos a keeper and itrsquos hard to imagine the selectors picking him as Painersquos replacement and immediately installing him as captainThose considerations could leave Smith as captain by default This is not a good reason to put any player in charge but especially one whose credentials already involve a murky captaincy past