Being included in the Tasmania squad to face Queensland in the Sheffield Shield this week, The former Australia captain Tim Paine is set to make his return after taking time off from the game. The 37-year-old will be playing his first first-class match since April 2021.
Paine returned to the club at the weekend where he kept the wickets and also made an unbeaten 20.
“Was nice to blow off some cobwebs. Been training for five or six weeks. Ready to go. Excited, a bit nervous, but looking forward to it.”
he told reporters at Hobart airport.
Jeff Vaughan, Tasmania’s coach told reporters on Tuesday that it was a unanimous decision to include Paine in the side, and they believe he’s in the best shape physically.
“He has been training with us the last couple of months. Firstly his name was on the table for one-day cricket and then he was on the table last week when we selected [the Shield]. And it was quite unanimous that everyone wanted one of the world’s best wicketkeepers into our side,”
Vaughan said.
“We have absolute faith and trust in Tim and his preparation. Physically he is probably in the greatest spot of his physical career, emotionally he is sound,”
he added.
Paine had resigned from the Australian Test captaincy following a sexting scandal that rocked Australian cricket and his career last November. He later announced he would be taking a break from cricket to focus on his mental health.
Paine has played 35 Tests for Australia, scoring 1547 runs at an average of 32.63 with nine fifties but no hundreds. Paine’s road back to the Australian side looks pretty closed, with Alex Carey grabbing his opportunities with both hands.
