MELBOURNE: Steven Smith will become Australia’s 45th Test captain and their third youngest when he steps in for the injured Michael Clarke against India in the second cricket Test at Brisbane starting on Wednesday.

Smith will captain the side for the rest of the series with regular skipper Michael Clarke’s career in serious doubt due to persistent injury problems.

Batsman Smith, aged 25 years and 195 days, becomes Australia’s youngest Test captain since Kim Hughes who was named in 1979 at 25 years and 57 days, and the third-youngest all-time.

Smith was in a two-horse race with wicket-keeper Brad Haddin to replace the 33-year-old Clarke, who suffered yet another hamstring strain during Australia’s victory charge on day five of the first test in Adelaide on Saturday.

Haddin, who will deputise for Smith as vice-captain, had been seen as a viable short-term replacement for Clarke, but at 37 and in waning form with the bat, was not a long-term prospect.

Smith’s selection ahead of Haddin suggests Clarke’s hopes of leading Australia or even playing again remained in grave doubt, as Clarke himself suggested to reporters after Australia won the Adelaide Test by 48 runs.

Smith will revert to the role of vice-captain if Clarke returns. George Bailey currently remains captain of the Australia one-day side.

Smith will be a popular choice as captain, a position dubbed the ‘second highest office’ after that of the Prime Minister in cricket-mad Australia.

The right-handed batsman and part-time leg-spinner has scored a mountain of runs over the past 12 months and shown an impressive poise under fire at odds with his boyish features.

“We congratulate Steve on the wonderful honour of leading his country,” chairman of selectors Rod Marsh said on Cricket Australia website. Smith has prior experience as a skipper, leading New South Wales state in domestic competition and the Sydney Sixers in the local Twenty20 league.

Since carving up Sydney’s grade cricket scene as a teenager, Smith has long been marked for big things, and made his first class debut for New South Wales at the age of 18.

By 21, he had represented Australia in all Test, One-day International and T20 teams, making his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, and scoring 77 in his second Test against the same opponents at Headingley.

Smith has scored 1,749 Test runs at an average of 46.02 since his debut. He has cemented his place in the Australia batting line-up since his recall after their disastrous series against India last year. In his 18 Tests since the India tour, Smith has scored 1,490 runs at an average of 51.

Published in Dawn December 16th , 2014