The English selectors were searching for possible captains for the 1932–33 tour of Australia, with Bradman and Australia's strong batting line up foremost in their minds. Christopher Douglas believes that, as Jardine was not a regular county captain, the selectors wanted to assess his leadership ability but had probably not settled on him as a final choice. He was also chosen as a dependable, proven batsman.[84] While Percy Fender approved of his appointment, The Times' correspondent believed that he was unproven and others were more deserving of the leadership.[85] Ian Peebles, writing 40 years later, claimed that Jardine's appointment was popular but cricket administrators had misgivings.[86] Alan Gibson believed that Jardine was chosen because the other candidates were either not worth their place in the side, too old or had controversy attached to them.[87] Furthermore, Jardine impressed the chairman of selectors, Pelham Warner, who stated that he was very effective in selection meetings through his knowledge of cricket history and went into great detail to choose the correct players;[88] it seems that Warner was the driving force behind Jardine's appointment.[89]