Cricket News: Michael Clarke suggests Australia should choose a captain other than David Warner

According to Clarke, the right thing to do would be to focus on the future and not look back at an experienced veteran entering the twilight of his career. 

“Tactically Davey is very good. I’ve watched him do it in the IPL and he’s been brilliant – one of the best – but at 36 years of age, I’d be very surprised if they go that way,” said the former captain. 

“I think they’ve made it pretty clear what they feel. If you’re fighting for Davey to be captain, it’s for marketing reasons.

“I don’t think the BBL (Big Bash League) is the right opportunity for Davey to captain. I know he hasn’t been campaigning, but he hasn’t shut it off, either.

“I think this story should disappear, fade away.” 

Clarke also clarified where he believes Australia’s eye should be – on grooming the next generation of Aussie talent. 

“We should be promoting the youngsters as much as we can. We need to be finding leadership in our domestic cricket," he continued.

“There should be five, six, seven players in a position to take over leadership if it comes up. I’m not sure if we’re working hard enough on that or see the importance of that.

“The fact we don’t even know is unbelievable. Can you imagine an Australian cricket team where you don’t know the vice-captain?” 

On the one hand, his comments write off Warner unfairly. Yes, he is a veteran talent at this point, but who is better for them now if they want a change of direction? 

But on the other hand, it’s easy to see Clarke’s point. There’s a real void of leadership among the younger crop of talent if Warner is even being considered for a leadership role. 

And this has nothing to do with the Sandpapergate scandal, either. What happened at Newlands in 2018 is not even being discussed as a potential holdup to Warner’s possible ascendency. 

But his age certainly doesn’t work in his favour. And there’s another critical point to consider for Australian cricket – do they want another stop-gap captaincy solution? 

When Steve Smith was removed from captaincy, both his successors – Tim Paine and Aaron Finch – reeked of being quick fixes. That’s because they were, and there was never any plan of removing Smith until the scandal broke. 

But with Finch and Paine going from the role, is it fair to bring in another option in Warner who would, at best, work only in the short term? 

Current Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins is, at the very least, there for another 4-5 years in both roles. Does it make sense to install Warner for a year or two before looking for someone else? 

It doesn’t, and that’s where Clarke is right – Australia should ideally look beyond Warner and build for the future instead of holding on to the past.