The pointed question is being posed with a little more force and frequency in the wake of the Test team losing – dot five, carry one, subtract three – the last four Test matches in a row.

This includes the first Test of the summer, against the South Africans, the first time Australia has been so humiliated since 1988 at the Gabba when they lost by nine wickets against the Windies.

Shrewd judge Shane Warne has been leading the charge against Smith from the Channel Nine commentary box, criticising everything from his field placements to the use of his bowlers.

Inevitably this has caused a series of robust statements of defence from current Australian players – led by fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and wicket-keeper Peter Nevill, broadly insisting in return that Smith is a great bloke, great leader, superlative tactician and all the rest. Good for them.

But when was the last time a current member of a team or squad said publicly that the captain wasn't up to the task? (I am thinking it probably goes back to 1999 in the Windies, when Shane Warne was left out of the Test side and gave every indication that he was not the biggest fan of Steve Waugh as captain, a position he has not resiled from since.)

From a great distance, I, for one, have trouble getting a handle on what kind of skipper Smith is. It is easier to say the kind he isn't. There is no hint of him being Captain Cranky, as Allan Border was, a bloke with more prickles than a prickly pear whose "Captain's knock" could nevertheless go for a day and a half, scoring runs at the rate of five or six an hour, to salvage a Test.

No frills: Steve Waugh. Photo: Craig Golding

Nor is Smith a throwback to the 1950s like Steve Waugh, a no-frills man of taciturn nature, who could nevertheless muster a six on the last ball of the day? Any hint of Mark Taylor, Mr Solid, whose captaincy was nevertheless mark by bursts of tactical brilliance that others didn't see coming, least of all the opponents? Not, it seems, that has been particularly noted.

And of course he's not like Michael Clarke, and seems to at least be well liked by his own players. The problem remains, for him as Skipper. When once presented with trifle for dessert, Winston Churchill gazed only briefly upon it before saying "Pray, take it away, it lacks theme." I'd say the same for Steve Smith.

He seems like a genuinely good bloke, and has clearly been a great batsman for the team. But the sort of captain he is, what he stands for, the values he represents? They are not clear, and such diffidence is rare in the most successful captains across all sports who have the capacity to act like a magnet on a pile of nails on a thin coffee table: they don't make the nails – the players in their team – point in exactly the same direction, but they can make them fit into a coherent pattern of play.

Ultimately it will come down to the numbers. Smith needs some Test victories, and he needs them fast. A couple of years ago I would have been very sure we'd never see David Warner as skipper of the Australian team. But only three days ago I was positive we'd never see Donald Trump as President, either.

HAVE MERCY ON ME

Andrew Webster noted in his Friday column that at Bradman Gala dinner this week, John Howard had noted that the most beloved commentator Bill Lawry was "named by his father after the former prime minister Billy Hughes, who had been a Labor PM but finished his 51 years in Parliament as a member of the Liberal Party."

Lawry, in his reply, noting how strongly he had ever and always been a devout ALP man, said of Hughes' turncoatery, "My Dad's hero was a prick." Yes, a bit. But the famously wizened Hughes – who looked like a walnut in a cardigan – also had a keen sense of self-deprecatory humour.

Back in 1919, when a portrait artist was taking too long to capture his features for a prime ministerial portrait, Hughes expressed his impatience, prompting the artist to say "I want do you justice, Sir."

"It is not justice I want," Hughes rasped back, "but mercy."

111 years: Ireland players celebrate their historic win over the All Blacks. Photo: Getty Images

SOMETHING IN THE WATER?

Ireland beat the All Blacks? Of course they did. After 28 attempts over the last 100 years or so, last Sunday the mighty men in green put the Kiwis to the sword for a fabulous 42-29 victory.

It continues an extraordinary year and a bitty of simply stunning results that include the Japanese rugby team beating the Springboks, Leicester City football club winning their first top flight championship since forever, Hibernian football club winning the Scottish FA Cup for the first time since 1902, Western Bulldogs winning their first flag since 1954, Cleveland Cavaliers bringing the city its first title of any kind since 1964, Cronulla winning the NRL comp for the first time since forever, the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series for the first time since 1908! Where is it all going to end?

Next thing you know the Australian cricket team might beat South Africa in a Test series, despite having lost the past four Tests straight! In a week where Donald Trump can become President of the United States, anything is possible.

ONE RULE FOR US...

TFF had an unpleasant rant on Thursday over the sheer unfairness of Ben Barba, father of four, having his reputation and livelihood torn asunder, simply because he engaged in exactly the same activity that hundreds of thousands of other Australians engaged in at much the same time – it appears he took illegal drugs.

In response, most readers heartily agreed. It is mystifying as to why rugby league players ceded their rights to privacy on such matters, when nearly all other Australians – bar those responsible for moving planes, trains, cranes and the like – don't have to submit to random drug tests of this nature, from their employers or anyone else.

No-one could explain why it was any more our business to know what Barba does on a Saturday night, than it is what you or I do on a Saturday night. Against that, a few readers insisted that the difference is that as a footballer, Barba is a role model, and therefore different rules must apply.

Great! Sooooo, who are the biggest role models for the youth of today? The obvious answer is that it those in the most public of domains: the actors, the singers, the DJs, the soapie stars, reality television hosts and even journalists and commentators. If that is your standard, shall we test them all, too?

No? Why not? Apart from the fact that if you did test us all, and suspended us all for 12 weeks like Barba, it would turn into a modern version of the day the music died.

How many radio stations, newspapers, television networks could still go ahead? So, what is the difference? Why does Barba have to submit to all that, when the same standard doesn't apply to everyone else?

I'm waiting.

Crickets.

Family man: Andy Murray. Photo: Getty Images

What they said...

NSW ­coroner Michael Barnes make his formal conclusion on the death of Phillip Hughes: "No finding is made as to whether the sledging actually occurred. However, hopefully, the focus on this unsavoury aspect of the incident may cause those who claim to love the game to reflect upon whether the practice of sledging is worthy of its participants. An outsider is left to wonder why such a beautiful game would need such an ugly underside."

New No.1 player in the world Andy Murray on how having a child has helped his tennis: "Having a kid does change things for you. For me, at the end of days, getting to see my kid made tennis not the most important thing any more. It made my mind work a bit differently. And I think that helped."

86-year-old bookmaker Eric Conlon on the state of the industry: "When I started there was millions of bookies and millions of punters. Now there's not that many bookies and no punters here ... They are all betting with the corporate bookmakers and you see them on their phones. I don't why they come to the races, other than to get drunk."

South African captain Faf du Plessis on the turn around from day 1 of the Perth Test. "To turn around 360 degrees from day one when we were under the pump and under a lot of pressure, day two was one of the best days of cricket I have been involved in." 360 degrees? Doesn't that mean they ended up where they started?

Wayne Bennett, coach of Great Britain's rugby league team, at his charmless best, with the British press: "I haven't read [about rugby league,] for over a decade now and I don't watch television shows. As soon as I see something on rugby league come on, I turn it off. So I'm immune to anything you say out there. It doesn't interest me."

Darren Lehmann on how the Australian team can't win: "We get in trouble when we don't pick and stick, we get in trouble when we pick and stick with you guys [in the media]."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on their good early form: "If somebody thinks being one point ahead after 11 match days is a big sign for the rest of the season, then I can't help this person."

Steph Curry after his three-point streak came to an end: "Would have loved to finish my career making one every game, but hey, start a new one. What was it, like two years? Kind of weird not to make one, but I will keep shooting."

Robert Allenby on the mugging/drugging/embarrassingly transparent piece of made up nonsense: "That was by far the lowest point. Just the attention that it caused. I still stick by my story because detectives and myself know and even today it's the same story. People don't even know that the guy's in jail for what happened to me in Hawaii. At the end of the day, I've done a lot more good than bad. I haven't killed anyone ..."

Dennis Lillee on who the modern cricketers should thank for their good fortune: "Cricketers all from now on, at some stage in their careers, should face whichever way, wherever they are, face towards Kerry's [Packer] grave and say a little thank you ..."

Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman on why he thinks he's never been fined for what he's said about the NFL officiating: "Sometimes the truth is the truth is the truth. It is what it is. This is basically reality TV, so I guess I'm good for ratings, probably."

Sherman, on why TV ratings are down: "Because the league isn't fun anymore. Every other league, you see the players have a good time. It's a game. This isn't politics. This isn't justice. This is entertainment. And they're no longer allowing the players to entertain. They're no longer allowing the players to show any kind of personality, any kind of uniqueness, any individuality."

On the bounce: Steph Curry. Photo: Getty Images

Team of the week

Ireland. Beat the All Blacks to broke rugby's most famous and celebrated losing streak, going back to 1905. There was a lovely thing going around on the internet, shortly afterwards: "Let that be a lesson to you all. NO ONE beats Ireland 29 times in a row."

Roger Federer. Drops out of the top 10 from 9 to 16.

Andrew Murray. First British man to reach world No. 1 since the introduction of rankings in 1973, and the oldest one, at 29, since our own John Newcombe did it in 1974.

Sydney FC. Have won all of their first five matches of the season.

Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp, whoever he is, has them flying high in the Premier League, I am told.

Rod Pampling. The Australian journeyman professional golfer won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. His first PGA win in 220 tournaments. I repeat. NO ONE beats Rod 220 times in a row. Good on him though.

Socceroos. Play their final game of the year against Thailand on Tuesday.

Steph Curry. A game after his 3 point streak ends, the Golden State Warrior hit a record 13 in one game.

Twitter: @Peter_Fitz