With England scheduled to tour Australia for a five-Test Ashes 2021-22 series, the hosts will be looking to retain the urn which they have since England's 4-0 defeat in the 2017-18 series. The Aussies were also at their best when they drew the Test series in England 2-2 back in 2019.

But this time around, the issue Australians are dealing with is the availability of their captain Tim Paine as he recently underwent invasive neck surgery. Even though Paine needs a six-week recovery period and is confident of recovering in time for Ashes, former Aussie cricketers are looking for alternatives.

Mark Taylor has recently suggested Steve Smith should lead the side even though Pat Cummins is the vice-captain of this Australian side.

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“I wouldn't rule out Steve Smith to come back and captain Australia. I think enough time, enough water has gone under the bridge since 2018, and what happened in South Africa.

Pat Cummins would certainly be in the pole position given he's the vice-captain at the moment. I think Australia has options. I was absolutely surprised about the Tim Paine news,” Taylor told Wide World of Sports.

Skipper Steve Smith along with his deputy David Warner and Camron Bancroft were banned from the sport for one year each and 9 months respectively for the ball-tampering scandal during a Test match in Cape Town back in 2018.

The wicket-keeper batsman from Hobart took over Australia’s captaincy when Cricket Australia was in turmoil.

As far as leading the Australian team is concerned, Paine has so far led the Aussies in 23 Tests, winning 11 and losing 8. The Aussies have also lost back-to-back home Test series against India. On the other hand, Smith has a better record as captain, as he has won 18 out of 34 matches and lost only 10.

(With Wide World of Sports Inputs)