'A whirlwind 18 months for me' - Steven Smith

Steven Smith has described being handed the Test captaincy as "an amazing thrill" and said he was confident he would have the full support of vice-captain Brad Haddin at the Gabba. Smith was catapulted into the job ahead of Haddin, who had been deputy to the injured Michael Clarke, as the selectors sought a more long-term captaincy option given the uncertainty surrounding Clarke's future.

The appointment as Clarke's official vice-captain, and therefore leader of the side in Brisbane, has capped off a remarkable rise for Smith, who at the start of last year was not even part of the Test team. But his emergence on the 2013 tour of India and then the back-to-back Ashes campaigns made him an integral part of the middle order, which has only continued in 2014.

"It's obviously been a pretty whirlwind 18 months for me personally, and for the team as well," Smith said. "For this to come up so quickly, it's an amazing thrill. It's something that I've always dreamt of doing. To now have the opportunity to lead Australia in a Test match and the rest of this series, it's an amazing thrill."

At 25, Smith will be Australia's youngest Test captain since Kim Hughes. Only Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood among the squad for the Gabba Test are younger than Smith. But he said leading older players was nothing new due to his domestic captaincy experience, and after national selector Rod Marsh told Smith of his appointment he had already received kind words from Haddin.

"I've had a bit of leadership experience with New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers," he said. "I know at the Sixers I had some older heads there with Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill. To lead those guys was a big thrill for me. I know coming out at the Gabba, our senior guys will support me 100%, and Brad Haddin, who I'm very close with, as the vice-captain will be right behind me.

"I'm extremely close to Brad and when I told him yesterday that Rod called me, I think he knew what was going on. He's over the moon for me, he's proud as punch. I'm certainly going to look to Brad out there as Michael always does. He's a terrific team man and he's got a great cricket brain as well. He's certainly someone I can lean on out in the middle as well."

Already Smith has had captaincy success - he led New South Wales to the Sheffield Shield title in the final of last year's tournament and captained the Sixers to the BBL title in 2011-12. The tactical side of captaincy seems to come naturally to Smith, who said he had often offered up thoughts to Australia's leaders on field despite not having an official position of authority.

"When I'm just a player on the field I have my brain thinking as a captain all the time about the situation needs," Smith said. "Sometimes I throw thoughts over to Michael or Brad. I have had the leadership experience with New South Wales and the Sixers and been quite successful. It is a different kettle of fish with Australia but I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Smith has already risen to the challenges provided over the past two years. Sent away from the Test team in 2011 after an initial taste as a legspinning allrounder, Smith worked hard on his batting, both in technique and mental application. Since the start of the home Ashes last summer, he is second only to David Warner on Australia's run tally and batting averages, with 984 at 61.50.

Importantly, his five Test hundreds have come in different countries and different conditions, from the slower surface at The Oval to quicker pitches with more movement for the fast men, such as the WACA and Centurion. Smith said his 100 in Centurion in February this year, against an attack boasting Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, was the innings that made him feel he really belonged as a Test player.

"My hundred I scored at Centurion against the South Africa team was a big eye-opener for me," he said. "They were arguably the best attack in the world, and in their conditions, to be able to score a hundred there under a bit of pressure with the circumstance we were in was pretty special. Ever since that moment it's gone uphill from there and hopefully it continues to be that way.

"I think patience is the biggest word for me. I go out there now and don't look to try to hit every single ball to the fence. I think when I first started I was probably a bit too aggressive and now I know I can bat a lot of time and just be patient. So, particularly on a wicket like the Gabba out here, you can let a lot of balls go on a length and when you get in on a wicket like this it's beautiful to bat on."

Smith said his aim at the Gabba was to lead from the front with a strong individual performance, while also carrying on the attacking captaincy style of Clarke.

"I said to the boys this morning that I had no intention of changing any plans of anything we've been doing over the past 18 months," Smith said. "We've come a long way and we've been playing some very good cricket and we're going to continue playing that aggressive, positive brand of cricket."