Tim Paine, the former Australian test captain, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Paine, a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, played his final match for Australia in January 2021 during the Ind vs Aus test series 2020-21.
Having made his international debut for Australia in 2009, Paine played in all three formats and was a valuable member of the Australian team. However, it wasn’t until he was appointed captain of the Australian Test team in 2017 that he became a well-known figure in cricketing circles.
Following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018, which was one of the darkest periods in Australian cricket, Tim Paine was named as the interim captain of the team. This was due to the suspension of then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.
However, Paine’s leadership qualities impressed the selectors, and he was eventually named as the permanent captain of the team. Starting his cricketing career as a teenager, Tim Paine played for the Tasmania U-17 team before making his first-class debut for Tasmania in 2005.
Recently, after the conclusion of Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield first-class match against Queensland, Paine announced his retirement from cricket. Paine had previously served as the captain of the Australian Test cricket team.
Having played 154 first-class matches for the Tasmanian team, the 38-year-old Tim Paine amassed over 6590 runs with an average of 29.63, including 3 centuries and 35 half-centuries. In terms of his international career, Paine recorded only one century and 14 half-centuries across all formats of the game.