Smith the man to fill captaincy role – Lehmann

“He’s a good player”.

Cook nearly broke into tears after beating Australia by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth Ashes Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Saturday, which gave the home team an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Clarke will play the final Test at The Oval, beginning on August 20, before the curtains come down on a distinguished career. Pop’s made it clear to me over the past 10 years that watching me play cricket is a big part of what keeps him going.

“I think he will be remembered for his courage and the way he played the game”, Sutherland told reporters yesterday.

Lehmann said he was expecting a “smooth transition” from Clarke as captain to Steve Smith, provided he is endorsed for the role by the Cricket Australia board as required, and that it would not hinder Smith’s batting.

He now leads the list for most runs in the Ashes 2015 with Australian opener Chris Rogers breathing down his neck with 437 runs to his tally.

Australia’s next Test assignment after the Ashes is a short tour of Bangladesh in October.

“You never want to walk away”.

Meanwhile Australia’s head coach, Darren Lehmann, has admitted mistakes were made by himself and his fellow selectors during their failed defence of the Ashes but has been assured of his job by the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland.

“He’s proven to a lot of people he’s the right man. Being England captain is a tough job, with a lot of critics and you’ve got to have a very thick skin to get through the bad times”.

Clarke spoke to a Sydney radio station from England on Monday after News Corp reported he had lost the faith of his team.

Symonds said the Australian batsmen were clearly to blame for losing the Ashes, particularly for their woeful dismissal for just 60 in the first innings at Trent Bridge.

His deputy Root is not among them and neither is Paul Collingwood, formerly the captain of England’s only global trophy-winning team at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and now in charge of his native Durham.

“And disappointing given we have had some significant highs including a World Cup win only just a couple of months ago”.

Clarke said the dropping of Haddin for the second test after the wicketkeeper had missed the first test to be with his sick daughter had been hard, but accepted it had been done for cricketing reasons. “You don’t get everything right”.

“I think it’s going to be a great last Test match, and very enjoyable for England“.