Steve Smith and David Warner after their first press conference as captain and vice-captain of Australia's Test cricket team. Credit:Getty Images Smith will lead Australia in Tests and one-dayers, and temporarily in Twenty20 too later this month because Aaron Finch is unavailable due to injury. The right-hander was elevated to No.3 by Clarke, in place of Shane Watson, for the West Indies series in June and has remained there during the Ashes. His first four Tests there - two in the West Indies, two in the Ashes - were a vindication of the move as he scored 622 runs at an average of 103.67 with two mammoth scores: 199 in Jamaica and 215 at Lord's. Even though Smith subsequently struggled at No.3 when Australia lost badly at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge - he has scored 26 runs in four innings - the new captain said that had not prompted the possible shift. Instead, he said it was because of the possibility of changes to the batting line-up for Australia's next Test tour, to Bangladesh in October.

Steve Smith and Australia's coach Darren Lehmann. Credit:Reuters "I haven't decided yet. I've been thinking about it . . . it is also going to come down to the make-up of the team and what will fit best. I haven't completely decided to stay at No.3 or not. We will wait and see," Smith said. "Nothing to do with that [low scores in past two Tests]. I batted No.4 at the back end of last summer when Michael was out and I was quite successful batting there as well. I'll just have to wait and see what the make-up of the team is and what sits best with the team and we'll see from there." Steve Smith talks to reporters after being announced as Australian new Test captain Credit:Reuters Smith had played 26 Tests when he moved to No.3. Ricky Ponting, who preceded Clarke as captain of Australia, had played 42 before he made the jump from the middle order, under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.

Incumbent captain Clarke was not on hand to congratulate Smith when the news of his appointment was conveyed by coach Darren Lehmann and chief selector Rod Marsh to the squad on Friday morning in Northampton, because he travelled directly to London after the Trent Bridge Test. While Smith will not be a selector, the same situation as Clarke's for the past two years, the new captain said he would nevertheless "have a big role in picking a team". "You speak a lot to the selectors and the coach and think about what's going to be best going forward and for that squad at that time," he said. "I certainly won't be kept out of the loop, that's for sure." Smith said he was eager to have Warner as his deputy, praising the relationship and friendship they have developed since first playing together in November 2006, for NSW's 2nd XI. "We have played a lot of cricket over time, we know each other's games really well . . . hopefully we can work well together and lead this team forward," he said.

"We know each other well as people and players and we are going to be able to have honest conversations as a leadership group and, hopefully, we can continue to drive this team." Smith will be 26 and 129 days when Australia starts their series in Bangladesh on October 9. That will make him Australia's youngest full-time Test captain since Kim Hughes, who was 25 and 57 days when he began his ill-fated stint in 1979. Ponting, Mark Taylor and Allan Border all began their stints when they were 29, while Clarke was 30 in his first series as full-time captain. Smith's comparatively early appointment raises the prospect of him, form-permitting, captaining the team for maybe even a decade. "It's really exciting. I've still got to perform and do well. That's one thing I want to do from the start, lead from the front with my performances on the field," he said. "It's just a really exciting time for Australian cricket — a new era, if you like — and I'm really looking forward to everything that comes with the role."