After retiring from first-class cricket at the end of Tasmania’s final Sheffield Shield match against Queensland last week, former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has been inundated with messages of support, causing his phone to become overwhelmed.
During a turbulent time in Australian cricket, Paine captained the national team in 23 Tests following the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. However, he resigned from the position and withdrew from the sport just before the 2021-22 Ashes after the public release of inappropriate text messages he had sent to a colleague at Cricket Tasmania several years prior.
Despite not having a state contract, the wicketkeeper Tim Paine returned to play for Tasmania this season and even played a game for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. Paine spoke to reporters in Hobart, saying that he wanted to finish his career on a positive note with good memories, and to have one more year with Tassie was all he desired.
Paine will play for University of Tasmania in the state premier league final starting on Friday. He revealed that it had been an emotional time since he broke the news of his retirement to his teammates. He also shared that his phone had been buzzing with messages of support from all over the world, which had moved him to tears.
Paine has been associated with Cricket Tasmania since he was 12 years old, and now, after 26 years, it’s a poignant moment for him to move on from something he loves and deeply cares about. However, he added that he would still be involved in the game of cricket.
Tim Paine, the former Australian Test captain, has reminisced about some of the highlights of his cricketing career. Winning Tasmania’s first Sheffield Shield title in 2006-07 and making his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010 were significant moments for him, he said.
Playing alongside his heroes like Damien Wright, Michael Di Venuto, and Dan Marsh, who had long careers but couldn’t win, was a real moment of glory, he added. He expressed his gratitude for having the opportunity to contribute to the team and help those older guys win the Sheffield Shield, which he would cherish for the rest of his life.
Paine also revealed that he would continue playing club cricket and had been in talks with Cricket Tasmania regarding a non-playing role. In his autobiography, he mentioned feeling let down by Cricket Australia when the texting scandal came to light.
Throughout his career, Paine played 35 Tests and 35 one-day internationals for Australia, in addition to participating in 154 first-class matches.
Also, see:
PSL: Top 3 players with the most sixes
