With Tim Paine having renounced the captaincy of the Australian Test team, now comes the problem of finding the right successor, something the selectors would have thought they had another few months to consider. But selecting the new captain is only a part of the problem that now surrounds the Australian Test team. There is also the problem of deciding on the vice-captain, the person who would likely cover the captain should something happen to him, a prospect that will be more daunting if indeed a fast bowler is chosen as the new captain. And could either the new captain or vice-captain actually come from someone who is not currently in the Test XI? And beyond that, there is still a decision that will need to be made as to whom the next Test wicket-keeper will be from a long list of highly qualified candidates, and just when that vacancy will in fact exist.

A week ago the Australian line up for the Gabba looked a fairly simple exercise to sort out. Suddenly it has become an entirely different undertaking as the right mix of players and leaders must be found, and that mix isn’t as simple as it may appear on the surface. On today’s podcast episode I will try to navigate our way around some of the thought processes that the national selectors may be working their way through, and most probably will come to the absolute incorrect conclusions in the process. But hopefully that will add up to an interesting and entertaining discussion on The Casual Mankadder, right here on Thoughts From the Metal Cavern.