In light of uncertainty over Michael Clarke's fitness, Darren Berry asks what makes a good cricket captain Steve Smith has been touted as a future Test captain. ON Monday the Australian selection panel will announce what we are led to believe is an extended squad for the first two tests of the summer against India. There is a lot of speculation as to exactly who will make the final XI, but the most intriguing question is if Michael Clarke is ruled out with his chronic hamstring troubles who should and who will be made captain? It appears to me that the choice is down to two. The old and the new? Brad Haddin if ruled fit is the most likely short term option and more than capable and worthy of the stripes. The bold, longer-term choice will be to anoint Steve Smith and show the world the future direction of Australian cricket. When the decision is not yours to make it's easy to have strong opinions but for what it's worth I would go for Smith. The only other options and totally from left field are both very astute captains and in my opinion the two best captains in domestic cricket, George Bailey, Tasmania and Cameron White Victoria. The problem with these two is they are unlikely to make the squad for the Gabba. It would be a huge call and an unlikely one to go to White. Either one of these would do a sound job in charge. Captaincy and leadership are two very different things and only a rare few have both departments totally covered. Strategy and tactics make a great on-field captain, then strong work ethic, management and pastoral care of your players make the ideal leader. A true leader will make decisions for the good of the team no matter the consequences or who he upsets along the way. Darren Berry says Brad Haddin would make a fine Test captain. Leadership can be a lonely place sometimes and no captain will ever make everyone happy. As long as he remains strong and true to his values and beliefs he will never go wrong. Mark Taylor has been the best Australian captain in my time observing, playing and coaching in the game over the last 35 years. He was a selfless man who ticked all of the above. Taylor always put the team first over any personal highs and lows he was experiencing in his time in charge. He is universally respected for those traits. The art of captaincy on the field separates great teams from good ones no matter what sport we are talking. Luke Hodge, Hawthorn FC, is one of my favourite sporting leaders. He is tough and uncompromising but I get the feeling would fight for his team until he was the last man standing. Different sport I know but he has leadership oozing from every pore in his body. When Hodge is around the Hawks walk taller. It's a great trait of any leader. On the cricket field a strategically smart captain can create wickets when it seems nothing is happening in a game with a slight field adjustment or a subtle bowling change. The better captains are always 5-10 overs ahead of the game in the field and thinking far ahead of others around them. Manipulating your troops and placing them in positions that creates doubt in the batsmen's mind is all part of the art. It sounds simple but it's not. Stephen Fleming, former NZ captain, led a notoriously underperforming team with great success as he was a strategically brilliant operator. He had the rare ability to make his team believe they were perhaps better than what they actually were. A great cricket captain lifts a good team to great. If the players believe in their leader half the battle is won before a single ball is bowled. It will be an interesting announcement on Monday. Clarke in or out? Who will lead if he is out? What are our future leadership plans? Haddin is a good man and one who will lead with passion but Smith is our future. Whoever is handed the honour will need all his teammates driving the same bus because Michael Clarke has only missed one Test in his time in charge and has been a strong, dominant figure since Ricky Ponting departed. The choice of captain of our country is a huge decision and no doubt the selectors will have debated the appointment with vigour. Who would you choose? Originally published as Captaincy issue raises intriguing questions