The Surfer

Australia's leadership problem

"With Clarke unavailable for one ODI, it seemed logical that either the vice-captain, David Warner, took his place or Haddin returned to the side," writes Ian Chappell in the Courier Mail

George Binoy
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
"With Clarke unavailable for one ODI, it seemed logical that either the vice-captain, David Warner, took his place or Haddin returned to the side," writes Ian Chappell in the Courier Mail. "Neither occurred and Ponting was re-appointed for a day. A vice-captain won't learn much about leadership by watching someone else perform the task."
As recently as Mark Taylor's captaincy reign, Australia had Ian Healy, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, all capable of leading the side if something happened to the skipper. In the past couple of weeks, Australia have plucked George Bailey out of the first-class ranks to captain the Twenty20 side and now the vice-captain of the ODI side has been passed over. This gap in the Australian cricket education process needs to be rectified quickly.

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo