Former Aussie quick backs Smith to regain captaincy

Former Australian quick Peter Siddle has backed Steve Smith to regain the captaincy, insisting his calibre is "outstanding" and he's "done his time" on the journey back from the sandpaper saga.

The debate surrounding Smith's future as skipper reignited when the gun batsman reached the end of his two-year leadership suspension in March, and it again intensified when Matthew Wade was handed the captaincy for the second T20I against India in Aaron Finch's absence.

Finch will likely remain captain of Australia's T20I and ODI sides for as long as he's playing international cricket, while coach Justin Langer expects Tim Paine to skipper the Test team until at least the end of the ICC World Test Championship in June 2021.

Fast bowler Pat Cummins appears to be the likely candidate to succeed Paine as captain when his Test career eventually ends – he is now Australia's sole Test vice-captain – but Siddle believes there's no reason why Smith can't return to the helm.

"I played under him and his leadership, knowledge of the game, how he captained the match in play was outstanding, so I can't see why he can't," Siddle said on SEN's Breakfast with Vossy.

"He's done his time, he's faced all the punishments and the criticism, and he's back playing some of the best cricket he's ever played. I can't see why, if he wants to do it and Cricket Australia see him fit, that he shouldn't take over some of those roles when they become vacant."

Smith was banned from competing in international and domestic Australian cricket for one year, and wasn't allowed to captain in international and domestic Australian cricket for two years, a suspension that ended in March.

Cummins has been the sole Test vice-captain ever since Travis Head was removed from the joint role in November.

The cricket world is split on whether a fast bowler should captain in Test cricket, with many arguing they shouldn't because their bowling sidetracks them in the field and they're more prone to missing games due to injury than batsmen.

South Africa great Shaun Pollock, former West Indian champion Courtney Walsh and Pakistan legends Imran Khan and Wasim Akram are among the limited number of fast bowlers to have captained in Test cricket.

Smith led Australia to victory in four of the five Tests he captained when Siddle was in the side, across 2015 and 2016.

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