Tim Paine is making a comeback to cricket this summer with Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield, nearly 12 months after he resigned the Test captaincy due to a sexting scandal.
At 37, the wicketkeeper is highly unlikely to get a recall to the national team, particularly since Alex Carey has established himself as the first-choice gloveman.
Paine is not under contract with Cricket Tasmania but he has been in negotiations with CEO Dominic Baker about a comeback and The Australian has reported he has been training with the Tigers during their pre-season preparations.
“All of Tasmania and I think most of Australia wants to see him finish his career on his own terms,” Baker told The Australian. “He is training as an uncontracted player to get fit for club cricket, but if he proves to be anywhere near his best expect to see him playing state cricket again.”
He has kept a low profile since his emotional resignation in the lead-up to last year’s Ashes series, saying he needed to take an indefinite break from the game to look after his mental health.
(Photo by Patrick Hamilton/AGP via Getty Images).
Paine was back among his international teammates, including Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc late last month when they attended Pat Cummins’ wedding in Byron Bay.
Cricket Tasmania’s grade competition, the Premier League, starts in early October. Tasmania’s opening Sheffield Shield game begins on October 6.
“We can confirm that Tim has returned to training with the aim at this stage to play in the CTPL this season,” a Cricket Tasmania spokesperson said.
The governing body declined further comment but Paine has another powerful ally in fellow Tasmanian and ex-Test skipper Ricky Ponting.
Ponting, recently appointed as head of strategy for Hobart Hurricanes, has openly stated his desire for Paine to again play for the BBL franchise.
Paine quit the Test captaincy after admitting involvement in a lewd text exchange with a female former employee of Cricket Tasmania in late 2017.
Cricket Australia secretly investigated at the time and exonerated Paine of wrongdoing, but he stepped down on the eve of last year’s Ashes series when made aware the text exchange would become public.
Paine’s successor as Test captain, Pat Cummins, said the wicketkeeper hasn’t been forgotten.
“Someone like Painey, firstly as a mate you want to make sure he’s okay. We all make mistakes,” Cummins said last week. “He did the wrong thing but he tried to fix the situation as best as he could … I really feel for him.”
Despite being in his late 30s, Paine has always been a super-fit player and could force his way back into Tasmania’s Shield side and would also be a chance to earn a contract with the Hobart Hurricanes or another BBL franchise.
However, with Cummins enjoying instant success as skipper with a 4-0 Ashes rout, followed by a series victory in Pakistan and a 1-1 split on the Sri Lankan tour, the national team has moved on from Paine.
Carey has made an encouraging start to his Test career, averaging 32.21 with the bat and despite a few costly fumbles with the gloves, settling into the wicketkeeper’s role well.
Tim Paine (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Paine was renowned as one of international cricket’s most skilful keepers during his time in the national team, which included a three-year reign as captain after stepping into the role following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018.
He played 35 Tests and ODIs as well as 12 T20s for Australia. In the 23 matches as skipper, he won 11 times, had four draws and suffered eight losses.
Paine allegedly sent sexually explicit phone messages to a Cricket Tasmania employee late in 2017 before he became Test captain.
In announcing his resignation, Paine said it was “a difficult decision but the right one”.
“At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and openly participated in. That investigation and a Cricket Tasmania HR investigation at the same time found that there had been no breach of the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct.
“Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at the time, and still do today. I’m sorry for the damage that this does to the reputation of our sport. And I believe that it is the right decision for me to stand down as captain, effective immediately.”
Tasmania begin their Sheffield Shield campaign away to Queensland at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on October 6.
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
Could boost crowd numbers if he was playing in the Tassie Shield team...or at least by one, I'd enjoy going along and seeing him play.
Pom in exile
Roar Rookie
So would I. :stoked:
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Staring with P? Pedro? Pepito?
redbackfan
Roar Rookie
jeff, jeff, jeff... your response to one of my limited postings and calling out some of your bs and suggesting you are a troll is to respond to all of my limited postings, which makes you a .. well, really a bully or troll, take your pick. unlike you i have not had 16,000 plus thoughts worthy of inflicting on the internet . why do you bother? i am guessing life hasnt treated you well. clearly pointing out your nonsense upsets you, so i shall continue. my redback bias is pointed out by, well, "redbackfan" is a clue even to someone as limited intellectually as yourself.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
QLD's Pierson may also be a quality option.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Objectivity loses out to one-eyed support for Redback Carey. So, yes, deflect from the discussion re his glovework by going to…character. The character assassination of Paine by those desperate to see Carey usurp him, has been quite something to witness over the last few years. — Problem here is, those desperate to support Carey, have little else to go by; can’t talk up Carey’s glovework, so dismantle Paine by all other avenues available, even though the discussion – apparent by this post at least – doesn’t actually focus on the discussion point at hand – glovework. A slippery slope if one wants to reference a keeper’s most recent Test performance. – Honesty, why do some bother polluting this site when the only objective is to be…unobjective? Or at least, those that only comment a dozen times a year and only when it’s a Carey v Paine discussion? TBH, it’s boring, embarrassing, fruitless and oh so transparent as to intent. Just step back and let others actually genuinely engage on cricket discussion. No one wants to be exposed to unbalanced and biased comments. – There’s a well known term for such an approach. And the internet noun that describes it, begins with a “t”.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
I would bring Paine back as keeper stuff Politics or past misdemeanours love to see him against the Poms :boxing:
redbackfan
Roar Rookie
his captaincy middling, his batting surprisingly his best point in his comeback although more defensive than offensive, his keeping was just not that great. from his first game (remember the headlines?) to his last (3 chances in a day to lose the test and series). "the best gloveman" tag is a crock, keepers have good games and bad . and character? defined by his actions, and don't pretend defending him is from the high moral ground
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
At his best he was the best we had in the past 15 years. His batting was ok. His captaincy was moribund and visionless.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
You called?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
One of our very best glovemen of the last 15 years. And retained that skill following quite a debilitating injury interruption. That he could come back from such an extended lay off speaks volumes. There's not many going around in Australian cricket currently that could parallel his keeping work. Probably one, at best two.
Tony
Roar Guru
:laughing:
Rellum
Roar Guru
Not unless you have multiple logins
Timmuh
Roar Guru
... and here I am
Rellum
Roar Guru
The is a certain low life that will appear soon, don't worry
Simoc
Roar Rookie
Paine is our best wicketkeeper in recent times. I didn't like his captaincy at all but he was put in charge in bad circumstances for Australian cricket. If he gets a role in one of the International teams that would be fine but I think looking forward and Josh Inglis may be the better option. He is certainly at least as capable as anyone on the world cricket scene.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
I notice the general tone towards Paine here is very positive, as it should be. Not like the viciousness we saw when this was all going down.
matth
Roar Guru
I hope he gets the chance to feel good about cricket again. He did a very good job for Australia under difficult circumstances when we easily could have fallen to pieces.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Maybe he could just return as a batsman rather than keep a young keeper out of the team, that's if Wade isn't keeper this season? Given the choice between these 2 you'd go with Paine as keeper first though for sure.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
I hope he does well. It would be a great sporting story if he did well for Tassie, Carey faltered, Paine got back in. We're allowed to dream?