Aussie Test captaincy still open: Warne

Shane Warne says Australia's captain and vice-captain positions are still wide open despite the backing of incumbent skipper Tim Paine by new head coach Justin Langer.

Paine was instilled as temporary Test captain in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal before being appointed the permanent skipper after Steve Smith was suspended for 12 months and ineligible to hold a leadership role in Australian cricket for two years.

While Paine is set to lead Australia in their upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE and into the foreseeable future, Warne says the Tasmanian should not be selected just for his leadership, and that the captain should be picked from the best playing XI.

"The Australian way is always to pick your best team," Warne said. "There is a lot of talk about that should Tim Paine be in the side? He is the captain at the moment.

"But we, as Australians, should always pick our best team and then pick your captain and vice-captain from that.

"I don't think we should just make a captain and then fit a side around him.

"I think the captain and vice-captain should still be up for grabs.

"I want to see us pick the best side. If Tim Paine is in the best side and he is the best guy to be captain, then make him captain."

Warne has previously called Paine a "quality person", and also suggested that while wicketkeepers should not be made captain, they are well equipped to fulfill the deputy role.

Australia's Test vice-captain is yet to be appointed, with senior players such as Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon open to the idea of the role.

But Langer, who is set to tackle his first Test assignment since replacing Darren Lehmann as head coach, today thoroughly endorsed Paine's leadership skills, with the pair set to travel to the United States next week as part of a leadership tour alongside Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland and EGM, Team Performance Pat Howard.

"He carries himself well," Langer said. "He's got so many of the strong leadership attributes that I respect – he leads by example, he's a very caring person, he's very well prepared both personally and strategically from a captain's point of view. 

"They're all really strong attributes from the leaders I've known."