While Tim Paine’s selection in the Ashes squad has caused quite a stir, Australia skipper Steve Smith has fully backed the surprising decision.
Australia’s wicketkeeping crisis was well documented in the cricketing fraternity but very would have thought that Paine would don the gloves against England as many had thought that the one of Matthew Wade, Peter Nevill or Alex Carey would get the role. However, with Wade and Nevill not managing to perform with the bat, the national selectors dropped the bombshell by selecting Paine.
Paine played last of his four Tests way back in 2010 when Australia toured India and not surprisingly his selection raised a lot of eyebrows. Moreover, the fact that he did not keep the wickets in the ongoing Sheffield Shield with Wade playing that role, his selection came out of blue.
However, Smith sounded pleased with the decision and backed the Tasmanian to play his role as the wicketkeeper.
“I’ve known Tim for a very long time,” Smith told a news conference on Friday (November 17).
“In fact, we debuted in the same game back in 2010. He’s a guy who’s got some incredible knowledge of the game, he’s got a great presence out on the field and he’s a terrific gloveman,” he added.
Smith admitted that Paine’s inclusion has surprised many but said that he was excited with the decision.
“His inclusion may have come as a bit of a surprise to a lot of people, but I’m excited by what he brings to the team and I’m sure he’ll do a terrific job for us,” said the Australia skipper.
Another surprising inclusion in the 13-man squad for the first two Ashes Test is Shaun Marsh. The left-handed batsman has replaced Glenn Maxwell as the number six batsman despite scoring only 236 runs at 39.33 so far this Sheffield Shield this season.
When asked about Marsh’s inclusion, Smith said:
“Obviously he’s been opening the batting so number six is a spot where you can potentially face the second new ball so he’s been doing that.
“He scored some good runs against us [New South Wales] at Hurstville Oval against the Test attack and he’s hitting the ball really well.
“I think [Western Australia coach] Justin Langer has been saying for some time he’s in the form of his life and it looked like he was batting incredibly well so I’m confident in the six batters that we picked that they can do a terrific job,” he added.
The Ashes will get underway from November 23 at the Gabba, Brisbane.
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