Smith faces competition for captaincy

SYDNEY: A rising crop of young talent will compete with Steve Smith to be Australia’s next captain, current skipper Tim Paine said on Tuesday.

Smith captained the side before Paine but was slapped with a two-year leadership ban over his part in the ball tampering scandal during a Test in Cape Town in 2018. The ban expired this week, prompting renewed speculation that Smith could soon resume the leadership duties. While 35-year-old Paine has acknowledged he is in the twilight of his career, the wicketkeeper said he was not yet ready to walk away from the game. He refused to lay out a timetable for his departure, particularly with the uncertainty created by the Covid-19 shutdown, saying only that coach Justin Langer and selectors knew of his plans.