Smith may get vice-captain role

JUSTIN Langer says Australia may consider Steve Smith for a vice-captaincy role once his leadership ban expires at the end of this month. The question of whether Smith will ever skipper his country again is one that won’t be answered for a long time yet, with Tim Paine and Aaron Finch both locked into their respective posts as Test and white-ball captains for the foreseeable future. Michael Clarke said this week that Finch should step aside after this year’s World Cup on home soil, but Langer yesterday claimed he couldn’t envisage a change on that front until at least 12 months’ beyond that, when another T20 World Cup will be staged in India. Langer has already endorsed Paine as Test captain until at least next year’s Test Championship final at Lord’s. However, selectors haven’t ruled out a more subtle adjustment which could formally recognise Smith in the leadership structure without thrusting him back into the hot seat. Australia has utilised multiple vice-captains over the past 18 months, and though a change isn’t being contemplated immediately, Langer says an elevation for Smith to the vice-captaincy could not be ruled out at some point beyond the end of March. “Maybe, it’s a good question. I said all summer that it’s all about timing, isn’t it,” Langer said. “Australian captaincy is all about timing. People who are in the team at the time, people who are developing, people who are ripe for the picking right at the time when the captaincy comes up. That [vice-captain] might be an option. Not many guys have gone from being captain to still playing like Steve has done.”