New Australia to emerge from Ashes defeat

Australia are likely to name Steve Smith as the successor to skipper Michael Clarke who stepped down from Test match cricket after losing the Ashes series in England.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann admits the squad needs to be rebuilt following the Ashes series defeat in England. ction Images/Reuters/Craig Brough

Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann said on Sunday that he is ready to rebuild the side around Smith after admitting the Ashes loss in England marked the end of an era.

Smith is the most obvious choice to replace Clarke who announced his retirement in the immediate aftermath of Australia's defeat in the fourth test at Trent Bridge on Saturday. 

That reverse gave England a 3-1 lead in the five Test series and with it the Ashes trophy that they had lost 18 month ago during the 2013-14 tour of Australia.

Smith was installed as captain of the one day team following Clarke's decision to step away from the one day international arena after leading Australia to glory in the cricket World Cup.

What kind of squad Smith will lead will be intriguing. Bowler Ryan Harris retired just before the Ashes series after perisistent knee injuries. Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh all appear near the close of their Test careers.

Lehmann, who has been told by Cricket Australia that his job is safe, conceded the end of of a cycle had been reached. "We've got a bit of thinking to do and reviewing what went wrong. There are going to be tough calls somewhere. We're not afraid to make the tough call, but you've got to also look after Australian cricket in the right way and we've got to make sure we're doing the right things by the players both old and new."

The 45-year-old former Australia all-rounder added: 'We've got to pick and stick a little bit now and make sure we've got the right formula for different tournaments, different formats, and making sure we're not just discarding players really quickly. So if we pick some young guys moving forward ... we just have to stick with them a bit and ride the wave. That's our job as coaches to really improve their skill level and how they learn about life." 

Clarke will stage his Test swansong at The Oval in London from 20 August. He made his Test debut in October 2004 and he has played 114 matches, scoring 8,628 runs at an average of 49.30,

He took over the Australia captaincy from Ricky Ponting in 2011 and has presided over 46 matches, winning 23 and losing 16.

In January 2014 when Australia completed a 5-0 whitewash over England, Clarke scored two centuries and averaged 40.33 in the series, but since March 2014, the captain's last 18 innings have produced 388 runs.

"When you lose someone as great a player as Michael was and a leader, you've got to find the next man and that I would think, with board approval, would be Steve Smith," said Lehmann. 

"I think it'll be a smooth transition. We'll work closely with him as we have with Michael. I think he'll grow and be a really good leader. "He'll be aggressive as all Australian captains have been, but I think he'll work out what works for him on and off the field the best."