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Journalism of Courage
Out of Tasmania team
Tim Paine is Australia’s crisis man in more ways than one. Last year, after finding himself out of the Tasmania team, he had almost given up on the game and even taken up a job offer with cricket equipment manufacturer Kookaburra, and moved to Melbourne. Then, as now, his life turned overnight with a cricketing crisis. Tasmania authorities oversaw an upheaval in the team, sacked coach Dan Marsh, and recalled Tim Paine — even giving him a two-year contract extension.
“I wasn’t far off taking a job at Kookaburra so to even be playing first-class cricket is probably more than I expected at one stage. I’ve been lucky that there’s been a lot of changes at Cricket Tasmania and it’s kind of refreshed myself and a few of the older guys. So it feels like a new job at the moment and it’s really exciting,” said Paine
Tasmania CEO Tim Cummins made him change his mind to quit, “I spoke to him (Paine) about how we were going through a pretty big transformation, how important it was to have leaders such as he and George Bailey and that we needed a few more years out of him yet.”
Fatherhood
When he was dropped by Tasmania in 2016, (a year before he almost quit), he had gone on his honeymoon. In 2017, during the next cricketing crisis, he welcomed his first child, a baby girl ‘Milla’, into his life.
“My life has definitely changed, whether that’s helping me (on the field) or not, I am not too sure,” he said after scoring a 3-ball duck. “I think since we’ve had her, it has become just a game. You get home and you see her and you don’t really care.”
Steve Waugh had called him a future captain
Back in 2011, when nearly everyone in Australian cricket was sure that Michael Clarke would replace Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh opted for Paine.
Waugh said: “Michael Clarke’s been groomed for it, he’s done it in the shorter form of the game and done pretty well. But for some reason, there’s question marks over Michael Clarke. I always believe there’s three or four players in the side who can captain the team,but probably haven’t revealed those skills because they haven’t had the chance. Haddin’s had a bit of experience,but the one who I think is interesting that I think about is probably Tim Paine. He gets a few mentions.”
Paine chose to be modest about his chances to become captain, then, “It’s nice to have people of that quality throwing your name in for such an honour. I suppose they’ve shown they think I have some leadership qualities and I guess the sooner I start working on them … I’ll be in a better place for the exposure I’m getting now. It’s nice to be getting a bit of a foot in the door.”
Finger injury that derailed his career
By 2011, he had already played four Tests and 26 ODIs, and was touted as potential captaincy material but a finger injury in an exhibition game proved disastrous. He had six failed operations to mend the broken finger, and took a while to come back to cricket.
Why Paine?
He remains unscathed in Sandpaper-gate. Also, on current form, Paine is an automatic pick in the playing XI. After his surprise return to the Test team in November last year, he has scored 338 runs in eight matches and effected 39 dismissals – 37 catches and two stumpings. This is a reason why he has been picked ahead of someone like Usman Khawaja.
His leadership qualities came to fore during the ugly tunnel confrontation between David Warner and Quinton de Kock at Kingsmead. It was Paine who intervened, grabbed Warner and pulled him towards the visiting dressing room.
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