Australia’s captain Steve Smith (left) and vice-captain David Warner during a tour game against Northamptonshire yesterday.  (Reuters)

By Richard Gibson/The Guardian

David Warner has described being named deputy to new Australia Test captain Steve Smith as a “massive honour”. Cricket Australia confirmed the appointments of Smith and Warner on Friday and on the back of Michael Clarke’s decision to retire from Test cricket following next week’s fifth Ashes Test.
It is less than a week since the chief executive of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, said: “I don’t think that’s necessarily an obvious next step” in response to suggestions that Warner was the frontrunner to take the vice-captaincy in the post-Clarke era.
In response, Warner said on Friday: “That’s James’ opinion. He’s our boss and I have to respect what he says. But the board obviously approved me being vice-captain and I thank them for their support, trust and faith in myself to be under Steve and help Steve as much as I can with my knowledge of the game.
“It’s definitely a massive honour and a boyhood dream just to first to get your baggy green but to be recognised as a leader within the group and being named vice captain is obviously a massive thrill for myself and I know my family as well. Obviously it’s a tag that I’m going to have to live with day by day now. It’s an added responsibility and I’ll be doing everything I can to help Steve on the field and off the field.
“I think the past 12-18 months I’ve shown how much I’ve matured. I’ve got a young family, I recently got married, I’m enjoying my off-field and I’m thoroughly enjoying my on-field performances as well. So for me it’s about me trying to help Steve as much as we can driving this team forward for the next five to 10 years,” he added.
Warner also spoke for how hard the team had worked and would continue to work under the new leadership duo. “I’ll still give the banter [within the squad]. Obviously in our team we sometimes we are serious, sometimes we do joke around a lot,” he said. “Each team needs a few characters and I see myself as being that character sometimes, and I will probably try and continue to be that funny person.
“I think the way that I’ve been . . . a lot of my energy has gone on the field, and a lot of hard work has been going on in the nets as well. I don’t just speak for myself, I speak for the whole team. What people don’t see and don’t understand is how much preparation that goes into these tours. We have had a long tour. We’ve been on the road for a while. We went to the West Indies and we won there, we’ve come here and we’ve been disappointing.
“But we’re giving 100% every time we walk out there. Every time we go to training our preparation is outstanding. You can’t fault anyone for their preparation ... we’ve been beaten by a better team at the moment. We’ve got one Test to go and we’re going out there trying to prove what we’re actually capable of.”
Sutherland had reminded Warner of his responsibilities as role model earlier this year after an on-field spat with India’s Rohit Sharma. Two years ago he also used the word “despicable” in relation to the punch the Australian batsman threw at Joe Root in a Birmingham bar.
But the Australian hierarchy appear to have been persuaded by Warner’s claims that the self-proclaimed ‘attack dog’ has transformed into a tamed puppy. At the start of this Ashes tour he revealed becoming a father had triggered a re-evaluation of his on-field behaviour, and that he would be giving up alcohol until the series was over. “David has matured and developed into an important senior figure in the Australian team. He has come a long way,” said the Australia chairman of selectors, Rod Marsh, who proposed his appointment.
Australia’s new leadership duo are playing in the tour fixture against Northamptonshire, with Clarke spending time in London ahead of his final Test appearance next week.