David Warner has endorsed Marcus Harris as his replacement at the top of Australia's batting order, as Mike Hussey urged selectors to pick a specialist opener when the time comes.
Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw are all vying to fill the opening spot Warner will vacate when he retires after the SCG Test against Pakistan in January.
There have also been calls to move one of Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne or Mitch Marsh to opener, which would allow allrounder Cameron Green to return to the line-up for two home Tests against West Indies in January.
But Warner has nominated Harris, who was a member of Australia's 2023 Ashes touring squad, as his choice to take over.
The 31-year-old Victoria left-hander boosted his hopes of succeeding Warner with a century in a tour match against Pakistan last week.
"It's a tough one and it's obviously up to the selectors but from my position I feel like the person who has worked their backside off and has been there for a while in the background (is Harris)," Warner told reporters after day one of the second Test against Pakistan.
"Harry's been there, he's toured ... he's always been that person who was next in line.
"If the selectors show their faith in him then I'm sure that he'll come out and play the way he does.
"He's not too dissimilar to me; if he sees it in his areas he goes for it and plays his shots. I think he would fit well."
Marsh has found form batting at No.6 and declared he does not want to open the batting, while Hussey urged caution against forcing players up the order.
Hussey went the other way, the West Australian left-hander growing up as a specialist opener before making his mark in Test cricket in Australia's middle order.
"Opening is one of the toughest jobs in the game," Hussey told reporters on Tuesday after it was confirmed he would be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
"So for me personally, if I was selecting, I'd be going for a traditional, proper opener; someone who's done it for a long period of time because if you haven't done it much in your first-class career it's going to be very difficult to to come up the order.
"I'm not saying you can't do it, and maybe someone could evolve into doing that role, but I think it would be difficult for a player like Mitch Marsh.
"I know there's been talk about him going up the order, I think he's probably more suited, much like Travis, to be in the middle order.
"I think that'd be the best for the balance of the Australian team."
Renshaw played two Tests in India earlier this year while Bancroft has been on the outer since playing the last of his 10 Tests back in 2019, against England at Lord's.
Bancroft has elevated his game over the last two summers and was the leading run-scorer in last season's Sheffield Shield, with 945 runs at 59.06.
The 31-year-old heads this summer's leaderboard with 512 runs at 56.88.
"I like whoever's dominating the level below - who's been dominating in Sheffield Shield cricket over a period of time," Hussey said.
"To be fair, they all have at various stages, so it's a tough job for the selectors.
"I hope that they reward the guy that's been performing very well at Sheffield Shield cricket.
"I think that sends a great message to the competition and it's great for our pathways if we're going to reward the guys that are doing well at first-class level."
