Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Tim Paine named in Tasmania Sheffield Shield squad | Will Tim Paine make a return to top level cricket?

Former Australian Test skipper Tim Paine is set to return to the First Class setup as he has been included in Tasmania’s squad for their opening game of the Marsh Sheffield Shield against Queensland in Brisbane this week.

Paine was not offered a state contract by Tasmania for the 2022-23 campaign. However, he will most likely be donning the gloves in the aforementioned game starting on Thursday.

Tasmania’s other three wicket-keeping options include Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott and Jake Doran. Wade is a part of the Australian T20I setup for the World Cup this year whereas McDermott and Doran will be playing as batsmen with Paine donning the gloves for the team.

Tim Paine has been training ahead of Sheffield Shield opener

“He has been training with us the last couple of months. And it wasn’t until we selected over the last week or two, firstly his name was on the table for one-day cricket and then he was on the table last week when we selected (the Shield),” Tasmania’s coach Jeff Vaughn was quoted in a report by cricket.com.au.

Vaughn added, “And it was quite unanimous that everyone wanted one of the world’s best wicketkeepers into our side.”

The coach added that the management had placed complete trust in Paine and his preparation for the first-class season. He explained that the 37-year-old is at an optimum fitness level and is doing sound emotionally as well.

“He has been training really well with us the last two months. We have got full faith in his wicket-keeping skillset so he has ticked all of the boxes,” Vaughn further opened up on the issue.

Paine hasn’t played a first-class game since April 2021. He hung his boots from the sport after his sexting gate scandal from 2017 was publicised widely late last year. However, he has been training as an un-contracted player with Tasmania for the last couple of months.

Meanwhile, Hobart Hurricanes’ head of strategy Ricky Ponting has expressed that he would want Paine to play for the franchise in the KFC Big Bash League (BBC) in the coming campaign. Hurricanes apparently have one vacant spot in their squad that Paine could fill.

Here are the squads for the Tasmania vs Queensland game starting on Thursday: (Via cricket.com.au)

Tasmania squad: Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Jarrod Freeman, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Ben McDermott, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk (c), Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster

Queensland squad: Usman Khawaja (c), James Bazley, Joe Burns, Jack Clayton, Blake Edwards, Marnus Labuschagne, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Mitchell Swepson