Just under 10 months ago David Warner's appointment as Australian cricket team vice-captain was questioned by some pundits.
The prospect of reformed wild-child Warner being one injury away from leading the national team even unsettled some at Cricket Australia.
But Warner has since kept his head down and churned out the runs, most recently for Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Warner linked up with Australia's ODI squad in Guyana on Wednesday, having led Hyderabad to victory in Sunday's IPL final.
The opener scored 848 runs in the tournament, second only to Indian superstar Virat Kohli.
Warner crafted nine half-centuries during the Twenty20 event, so many of them captain's knocks in which he near-perfectly assessed the state of play.
Should Steve Smith's wrist injury flare up at any stage of this month's ODI tri-series in the West Indies, Warner will captain his country.
Never before has the 29-year-old been so ready for such great responsibility, according to teammate Aaron Finch.
"A part of that is having confidence in your own game but also having the confidence of your teammates in your own game as well," said Finch in Guyana.
"That you're almost the No.1 picked player.
"He's certainly that, along with Steve. They've been exceptional for a long time now.
"He's probably been the form player in the world (across all three formats) over the past two years.
"If something did happen and he had to take over, he'd do an amazing job."
Finch, who was forced to relinquish Australia's T20 captaincy earlier this year, knows how hard it can be to achieve consistency in the fickle format.
"To lead the Sunrisers to the title I think shows how much he loved the responsibility of captaining," he said.
"He was someone who captained the way that he plays. He always took the aggressive option, he never backed down.
"His captaincy and batting during that period was unbelievable.
"They didn't start off the tournament overly well but I think he stuck to his guns, stuck to what he believed was right."
Warner has extended a self-imposed booze ban this year, while his young family continue to be a steadying influence.
"He's someone who has changed his lifestyle, changed everything to make the most of the talent and the career," Finch said.
"The way he's matured with his family, Candice has had a lot to do with that.
"I think having three girls at home would settle down anyone, wouldn't it?"
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