No expectation of captaincy: Bailey

George Bailey has skippered Australia's ODI team more than anybody else over the past two years, but he's not expecting to be handed the captaincy on a permanent basis.

The 32-year-old led his county as recently as their opening World Cup fixture against England on February 14, scoring an important 55 with the bat as Australia won by 111 runs.

But it was Bailey's only contribution - at least on the field - to Australia's World Cup triumph as regular skipper Michael Clarke returned to the side to guide them to a fifth World Cup title.

However, Clarke's retirement from ODI cricket has not only opened the door for Bailey to resume his place in Australia's middle order, it's also raised the possibility that he will take on the captaincy full-time.

But with Test captain-in-waiting Steve Smith having secured his place at No.3 in the side, just five months after he was dropped for a match against South Africa in Perth, Bailey is expecting to be overlooked as captain for Australia's next ODI assignment, against England in September.

"If I wasn’t in the team for this last six weeks then I can’t imagine I would (be skipper),” Bailey told The Hobart Mercury.

"I would love to remain a part of (the team).

"I certainly feel like I’ve got a number of good years of cricket left in me, and hopefully a number of them are in Australian colours."

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Bailey and Clarke during a World Cup warm-up match // Getty

Bailey would be a ready-made replacement as skipper as Australia reload and begin their push to defend their title in the UK in four years' time.

Overall, 29 of Bailey's 57 ODIs have come as captain of the side, for a winning percentage of 55 per cent.

But at 32, the highly-respected Tasmanian is only 18 months younger than Clarke, and the National Selection Panel may look to 25-year-old Smith, who led Australia in both Test and ODI cricket this summer.

Smith replaced the injured Clarke as Test skipper for three of the four Commonwealth Bank Tests against India, and also stood in as captain for the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series clash against England in Hobart when Bailey was suspended for a slow over-rate offence.

Incredibly, Smith scored a century in all four matches with the 'c' against his name in a watershed season for the Allan Border Medallist.

And if history is any guide, Smith would be favoured to get the nod over Bailey as captain for the first of five ODIs against England in Southampton on September 3.

Australia's past three Test captains - Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Clarke - all enjoyed long apprenticeships at the helm of the ODI side before ascending to the Test leadership.

Following Mark Taylor's axing from the ODI side in 1997, Waugh captained Australia 30 times in ODI cricket before he also took over the Test captaincy when Taylor retired in 1999.

Ponting enjoyed a similar stint as ODI captain before he replaced Waugh as Test skipper; he led the side in 54 matches, including an 11-match unbeaten run at the 2003 World Cup, before taking over the Test side when Waugh retired in early 2004.

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Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh // Getty

And Clarke captained Australia in 24 ODIs before he took over the captaincy full-time from Ponting after the 2011 World Cup, while he also held the reins of the Twenty20 side before he retired from the 20-over form of the game in early 2011.

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey said last week the choice between Bailey and Smith comes down to whether selectors want a ready-made replacement or a man for the future.

Quick Single: Hussey on Australia's next ODI captain

"George Bailey’s done a fantastic job over a fair period of time now," Hussey told cricket.com.au.

"You probably don’t have to look any further than that at the moment.

"I’m sure it’s something they’ll discuss, the long-term future of the one-day team.

"Perhaps it’s a chance to start grooming someone for the next World Cup who’s going to be the skipper in the next World Cup.

"It might be Steve Smith, I don’t know. These are the sort of things the selectors have to discuss.

"George has done a fantastic job but if they’re looking longer term, a lot longer term, Steve Smith’s name might pop up."

While the captaincy is up for debate, Bailey would be one of the leading candidates to replace Clarke in Australia's middle order.

The right-hander was Australia's only reserve batsman in their 15-man World Cup squad, and his ODI average of 42.02 from 57 matches justifies his world ODI batting ranking of No.10.