Barely 18 months ago, Steve Smith’s name could not be found on the team sheet for the Australia's Test or limited-overs starting line-ups.

But such has been the speed and surety with which he's worked on his game and seized his opportunities in the red and white ball formats, he has been cited by national selector Mark Waugh as a pre-eminent candidate when the time comes to appoint Australia's next cricket captain.

Smith, who broke through for his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in Sharjah earlier this month (his previous best in 38 matches for Australia had been 46 not out), has been his team's in-form batsman of the current VB Tour of the UAE.

But Waugh, who joined the selection panel earlier this year, claims it's Smith's ability to read the game as much as his talent with bat and ball that has him stamped as a possible replacement for Michael Clarke when the incumbent skipper decides to draw stumps.

He pointed to Smith's remarkable catch off Pakistan's Fawad Alam in the third ODI in Abu Dhabi – where he sprinted from slip to leg slip to intercept the batsman's pre-ordained reverse sweep – as an example of his highly valued match awareness.

"He reads the game very well – even that catch he took the other night, that was great anticipation," Waugh said in an interview published in Australia's major daily newspapers today.

"He's a smart cricketer and a very good player.

"He's got all the attributes to be a good captain, without putting too much pressure on him, because he's only really just started his Test career.

"You throw his name around but his career is only just evolving.

"Ideally, you'd like to see him play another couple of years before he had the pressure of the captaincy.

"Obviously, Michael Clarke is there at the moment but Steve Smith has probably been one of the names that's been bandied around.

"David Warner's name has been there as well.

"Hopefully it won't happen for a while and Pup (Clarke) will play for a few years yet.

"But you need someone who is going to be in the team, for a starter, and I think logically looking at it ... Steve Smith is probably there or thereabouts, isn't he?"

Smith has been increasingly spoken about as an Australian captain in waiting, talk that began when he was made captain of Sydney Sixers for the inaugural season of the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

But after a promising start to his international career, he lost his place in the Test and then one-day line-ups as the then selection panel – along with the Australian team brainstrust – urged him to focus on his red ball performances rather than have him chop and change between formats.

When he returned to the Test XI during last year's tour of India, he impressed with his capacity to handle spin and cemented his place with centuries in each of the subsequent two Ashes series (in the UK and Australia) as well as this year's tour of South Africa.

He also returned to the ODI team last summer, and now looks certain to be a part of Australia's plans for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, which begins in Australia and New Zealand in February.

But when the inevitable question about his suitability and aspirations for national captaincy arise, the exciting stroke player maintains the straightest of dead bats.

"It's nice to hear those kind of things but for me right now it's trying to nail my spot (in the Australian team),” he told reporters prior to the start of the Australian domestic season last month.

Waugh, who played 128 Tests and 244 ODIs for Australia during an era of unsurpassed success, believes with the likes of Smith still forging their international credentials the recent tradition of strength and longevity in the Australian captaincy will be maintained.

"It's not easy to find an Australian captain," he said.

"And there is probably not as many players around these days as, say, when I played.

"You probably could have had five or six guys you could probably look at.

"I'm sure we'll be okay, but there is probably not an abundance of people putting their hand up just yet."