This was published 9 years ago
Who captains Australia in NZ after Smith injury?
No Smith
Australian selectors will be forced to name a new ODI captain after Steve Smith was ruled out of the NZ series because of an ankle injury. "There's still guys around the group that have leadership capabilities," Smith told reporters at Adelaide Airport.
Leadership dearth?
Adding to potential leadership dearth is the absence of vice-captain David Warner, who is being rested for this series. Leaving the question, who is the best man to captain Australia in New Zealand?
Aaron Finch
The Victorian has one of the strongest claims to the captaincy despite only being recalled to the team after being replaced by Usman Khawaja against Pakistan.
Aaron Finch
Finch, who captains the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash, has led Australia before at international level, albeit in the T20 format.
Matthew Wade
Matthew Wade is the other favourite to take the role. With 87 caps, the wicketkeeper is the most experienced ODI player left in the squad to travel to NZ.
Matthew Wade
He has also captained his state, Victoria, for four seasons from behind the stumps.
Usman Khawaja
The Queensland captain's name will also be mentioned as a possible contender despite playing fewer than 20 international games in the format.
Usman Khawaja
The classy left-hander was named as Bulls captain for the 2015/16 season and also captained Australia A with distinction in the past.
Travis Head
His age and inexperience makes him an outsider, but Head does have captaincy experience in first class cricket and is highly regarded.
