Is it time for Australia to look beyond Tim Paine?

Ever since the Indian team breached the Gabba and secured its second consecutive Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia, the Aussie skipper Tim Paine has been under the pump. While some pundits in Australia’s cricketing establishment have opined for Paine’s sacking as a captain, the others have sparked a debate on whether the 36-year old Tasmanian should continue as Australia’s first-choice wicket-keeper in Tests?

Now almost all of the above insecurities have been propounded because of Paine’s bleak show in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series. With his primary skill, the wicket-keeper had an obnoxious time twice in his day five performances.  The three dropped chances (twice of Rishabh Pant & Hanuma Vihari) or a missed stumping of Rishabh Pant on the Day 5 of the Gabba Test, the Aussie skipper did look impaired.

Did Tim Paine just drop the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/uwyYYSrZee

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) January 11, 2021

In terms of his batting, Paine also couldn’t amass big scores as overall from his seven innings, he could only notch a total of 204 runs including four scores of less than 30. Although before the South African series got discarded, both his leadership and his first choice wicket-keeping skills were retained during Australia’s squad announcement. However, there were some indirect signs pointed out by the Australian selector Trevor Hohns which did indicate Alex Carey’s upcoming long stint with the Test squad.

By replacing Matthew Wade, who apparently was playing at the no.5 position during the home series, Carey’s selection did occur as a backup keeper. But as per the statements made by Trevor Hohns, one might see the newbie possibly getting infused into the batting order.

The left-hander has been Australia’s first-choice keeper in the limited-overs and has been under the radar for a Test selection. His first-class record, wherein the 29-year-old averages just under 35 has been enlarging. Also for a while, the man has been long hailed as Australia’s future captaincy prospect. Some have also opined that his prolonged inclusion into the Test squad can potentially allow him to transition as a full-time wicket-keeper when Paine decides to hang up his boots.

Apart from Alex Carey, Australia do have few more candidates to explore. There’s Peter Handscomb, who has not only played 16 Test matches for Australia but also averages 38 in his first-class career. Another budding prospect is the 25-year-old Josh Inglis. The right-handed batsman had a prolific Sheffield shield, wherein a total of 354 runs came from his bat in his four matches.

But the question of Australia looking beyond Paine – the wicketkeeper is something which the former Aussie legends have refrained while giving their opinion. While the Australian coach Justin Langer and the former Aussie speedster Mitchell Johnson have opined to cut some slack, the former selector Greg Chappell has remarked that he is still the best wicket-keeper batsman available in the country.

In the concluded Test series, Paine averaged 40 which was the third-best coming from Australia’s batting order. In addition to that, his batting average of 32.63 also still remains the third-highest of all the Australian wicket-keepers. Although the two home series losses against India might look hounding, Paine still has a retained Ashes Trophy and 11 wins out of the 23 matches to show for his efforts.

At the age of 36, Paine is nearing the end of his career. He is still Cricket Australia’s best viable bet, both as wicket-keeper and as a captain to secure the upcoming Ashes. However, moving forward, it is time for Australia to groom Paine’s replacement.