Steve Smith Gets Ricky Ponting's Backing as Australia's Test Captain

Premature it may be, but Ricky Ponting feels Australia's Test captaincy is in safe hands under Steve Smith. The third-youngest captain to ever lead the team, Smith will have to shoulder a huge burden of expectation as the holder of Australia's "second highest office" after the Prime Minister.

Nailing down a spot in Australia's batting order took patience for 25-year-old Smith but his elevation to captain of the Test team has been virtually an overnight affair. Long marked for big things, Smith was named Australia's 45th Test captain on Monday in place of injured Michael Clarke and is getting scarcely two days to digest the appointment before leading the team against India in the second Test in Brisbane on Wednesday.

"Australia can be confident about seeing the national cricket team in Smith's hands. It is a great shame that Clarke's body has not held up well this summer, and ideally it would have been nice to see Steve have another 12 months or so before taking on the job. But as the next long-term captain in the selectors' eyes, these next three Tests against India will do him a world of good," Ponting wrote in ESPNCricinfo.

Smith's appointment means Cricket Australia has accelerated succession planning for Clarke's eventual departure, which may become clearer over the next couple of days after more scans on his troublesome hamstring.

The sight of Smith and his boyish features ordering around seasoned team mates like 37-year-old vice-captain Brad Haddin and 35-year-old paceman Ryan Harris may seem curious at first.

Haddin helped guide Australia to a nerve-jangling victory on day five of the Adelaide Test when Clarke limped off the field injured and was fancied as a good short-term replacement by the country's high performance chief Pat Howard.

But hard-bitten wicketkeeper Haddin will be an important sounding board for Smith, who has led state team New South Wales and claims the respect of senior players.

Much of that respect has developed only in the past 12-18 months as Smith has cemented his place with a mountain of runs after three years of hard graft on the fringes since his 2010 debut as a raw 21-year-old at Lord's against Pakistan. (Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc in, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle out)

"For now, though, the captaincy rests with Steven, completing a journey to leadership that began when I handed him his baggy green cap at Lord's against Pakistan five years ago," wrote Ponting. (Steve Smith eyes 2-0 lead on lively Gabba wicket)

"Steven then made 77 in his second Test match, at Headingley. We had been bowled out for 88 on the first day and were well behind in the game. Pakistan eventually scrambled home in the fourth innings, but Steven's knock gave us a chance. (Dhoni has no fears for India on pacy Brisbane track)

"Batting with the tail, he played all the shots, taking on Danish Kaneria in particular with a pair of sixes down the ground. We were sitting there in the team viewing area hoping he would go on to a hundred, and while Steven fell short, I never forgot how much poise he showed that day," Ponting said. (Draw was never an option in Adelaide, says Virat Kohli)

Smith has already made his position clear by promoting himself to the injured Clarke's fourth place in the batting order. He has pledged to maintain the regular skipper's proactive approach to captaincy but will have to do so with a very different side in Brisbane. (Dhoni returns to lead India in Gabba)

"Something else I have liked about Steven's batting is how he has taken on responsibility for winning games in recent times. He has shown that particularly in the past two ODI series. When he got a chance to bat at No. 3 against Pakistan he made a fine hundred, and then against South Africa he was the man who got Australia over the line when they had looked down and out.

"He has got all the qualities to be a long-term leader and he's already developing a reputation as the man who can rescue Australia when all seems lost," wrote Ponting.

(With agency inputs)