Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting sees no issue with Steve Smith helping incumbent Test captain Tim Paine in setting fields and implementing strategies.
Smith, who was banned for a year from representing Australia, following last year’s ball-tampering scandal, was also imposed a two-year sanction on the captaincy, which does not allow him to assume an official leadership position within the Australian outfit until March 2020. However, Ponting feels Smith should continue to ‘help in whichever way’.
The 30-year-old took the initiative on the field during the third day of the first Test in Birmingham, as he interacted with bowlers, directed fielders and constantly engaged in dialogue with Paine. His heavy involvement in the field did not go unnoticed and was criticised on social media and in some sections of the press.
Now that Smith is finally getting back into his groove after the year-long absence, Ponting thinks there should be no problem in Smith officially taking over from Paine in due course.
“Personally, I wouldn’t have any problem with it at all,” he said. “If the hierarchy at Cricket Australia have an issue with him ever being captain again, they would have given him a life ban, wouldn’t they? By banning him for just an extra 12 months, they think it’s okay for him to come back. So if the authorities think it’s okay, I’m happy with it as well.”
