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Summary
- Tim Paine resignation as captain could hurt his selection
- Paine not the first choice wicket-keeper in the country
- Australia to select new captain in the next few days
Australia are still on a high from winning the T20 World cup and regard the test captaincy role as the second highest position in the country with the first position being the Prime Minister of Australia.
Tim Paine was put under pressure after news media reported a sexting scandal involving the Australian woman that went back to 2018.
Paine decided to resign immediately from his role as Australian test captain and apologized to the country and his teammates for letting them down and causing unnecessary drama in the lead-up to the 2021-2022 Ashes. The first test against England is set to begin in Brisbane on Dec 08.
Paine May Not Be Selected For Ashes
Tim Paine was an automatic pick for the Ashes since he was the captain and wicket-keeper. However, with Paine resigning as captain, his place in the playing XI is not guaranteed as he is not the number one keeper in Australia given his recent performance.
Paine has a career average of 32.63 and hasn’t scored a century for Australia in the last 57 tests. Paine will turn 37 on Dec 08 and is coming to the end of his career. Given the drama that Paine has caused in the lead up to the Ashes, the selectors might be tempted to leave him out of the side and go with some of the other impressive wicket-keeper batsmen which include Alex Carey and Josh Inglis.
7NEWS Australia
George Bailey, chairman of selectors is a business partner with Tim Paine and a close friend. He has stated that he will not cast his vote as a selector if the voting process on Paine ends up in a split decision.
Paine’s selection is going to be a talking point as we get closer to the Ashes.
Australia Will Elect New Captain Shortly
The Australian Cricket Board needs to make a decision as to who is going to be the next captain. The two front runners for the job are vice-captain Pat Cummins and former captain Steve Smith.
Shane Warne has backed Cummins and says he is ready for the job while the Australian public are ready to see Smith take back his captaincy which was stripped from him after the ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
