• Paine bids quiet farewell to cricket

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    Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine retired from cricket with little fanfare on Friday, bowing out after playing an inter-state match in Tasmania.

    Paine led Australia between 2018 and 2021 after Steve Smith was stripped of the captaincy in the wake of the “Sandpaper-gate” ball-tampering incident against South Africa.

    He skippered the team in 23 Tests – winning 11, losing eight and drawing four – and was credited with helping rebuild Australian cricket’s reputation.

    Paine was forced to stand down after it was revealed he had sent lewd messages to a female colleague in 2017.

    As the scandal took its toll, he stepped away from cricket for the “foreseeable future”, returning to the game almost a year later in October 2022.

    The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman played his final first-class game for state side Tasmania in a domestic fixture against Queensland on Friday, walking off through a guard of honour formed by players.

    Paine played 35 Tests for Australia, with a top score of 92 and an average of 32.63. He also played 35 ODIs.

    Australia regained the Ashes in England in 2019 under Paine’s leadership, in what was otherwise a turbulent period for the Test side.

    Current Test skipper Pat Cummins took over from Paine in November 2021, describing him at the time as a “well-loved and respected figure of our team”.

    © Agence France-Presse

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    Simon Borchardt