Australia v England: Steve Smith 'chills' over captaincy after Josh Hazlewood leads second ODI
The batter was relieved of his duties as captain after the ball tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.
"I don't know if there was a conversation. I just do what I'm told," Smith said.
"I was vice-captain for this game, and helped where I could. They seek to train new leaders, younger leaders. I'm pretty cool, I'm just gonna do my thing."
Smith was captain of the Test team against England in Adelaide in the 2021 Ashes series, when Cummins missed out because he was thought to be a close contact of someone with Covid-19.
Questions over whether he will lead the team again remain due to the controversy, with suggestions that returning to Smith would be a step backwards for Australia, but former bowler Stuart Clark says he's now more fit to play purely as a batsman.
"If they want him to be captain, he will, and if they don't, he won't.
"He is happy to help when he can, but he has no ambition to charge more with that," Clark said.
"He's aged a bit, he's married, and he is probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning. He still has a long way to go when it comes to cricket, but he has been a captain for a long time."
There were also worrying signs for England and other nations regarding Smith's form during the series, as he scored 174 points in two innings and was only dismissed once.
He has described himself as a "work in progress" over the past year, having beaten well without quite reaching the dizzying heights of the winter of 2017-18, when he scored 687 runs in Australia's crushing of England - before missing a year of international cricket due to tampering of the ball.
"It's my movement, my hands, the time I have and just where I hit the ball. I feel like I'm in the right spot," Smith said.
It's a statement that will delight Australian fans ahead of the Test series against the West Indies and South Africa, followed by the Ashes in the UK next summer.
"He held Australia together today and that's what we know about him," said D Clark.
"He's starting to look like the Ashes 2018 version of himself again. He's changed his technique, his feet, his hands. It looks easy for him now."
The batter was relieved of his duties as captain after the ball tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.
"I don't know if there was a conversation. I just do what I'm told," Smith said.
"I was vice-captain for this game, and helped where I could. They seek to train new leaders, younger leaders. I'm pretty cool, I'm just gonna do my thing."
Smith was captain of the Test team against England in Adelaide in the 2021 Ashes series, when Cummins missed out because he was thought to be a close contact of someone with Covid-19.
Questions over whether he will lead the team again remain due to the controversy, with suggestions that returning to Smith would be a step backwards for Australia, but former bowler Stuart Clark says he's now more fit to play purely as a batsman.
"If they want him to be captain, he will, and if they don't, he won't.
"He is happy to help when he can, but he has no ambition to charge more with that," Clark said.
"He's aged a bit, he's married, and he is probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning. He still has a long way to go when it comes to cricket, but he has been a captain for a long time."
There were also worrying signs for England and other nations regarding Smith's form during the series, as he scored 174 points in two innings and was only dismissed once.
He has described himself as a "work in progress" over the past year, having beaten well without quite reaching the dizzying heights of the winter of 2017-18, when he scored 687 runs in Australia's crushing of England - before missing a year of international cricket due to tampering of the ball.
"It's my movement, my hands, the time I have and just where I hit the ball. I feel like I'm in the right spot," Smith said.
It's a statement that will delight Australian fans ahead of the Test series against the West Indies and South Africa, followed by the Ashes in the UK next summer.
"He held Australia together today and that's what we know about him," said D Clark.
"He's starting to look like the Ashes 2018 version of himself again. He's changed his technique, his feet, his hands. It looks easy for him now."
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