Wicketkeeper Alex Carey welcomes Tim Paine as Adelaide Strikers coach amid landmark deal

Tim Paine’s appointment comes as the South Australian Cricket Association confirms a landmark deal with Cricket Australia.

Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey has welcomed Tim Paine’s appointment to the coveted Adelaide Strikers coaching role, praising the former Test captain as a “great leader” who will “compliment” the team.

Speaking on his appointment to the top job, Carey said the former captain “brings a lot of energy to this group”.

“Having him last year, the boys now have developed that relationship with him,” he said.

“It’s a young, exciting group that we’ve got, and he’ll compliment our team very well.

“He’s a great leader.”

Paine stepped down as Australian Test cricket captain in 2021 after learning that explicit messages, allegedly sent to a colleague, would go public.

Tim Paine has been appointment to the Adelaide Strikers coaching role. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A Cricket Australia investigation cleared him of wrongdoing in 2018.

Carey’s comments come as the South Australian Cricket Association confirms a landmark deal with Cricket Australia that will see Adelaide Oval set the stage for the final Test Match prior to Christmas from next year to the 2030/31 summer.

Sunday’s announcement locks in a previously reported deal where the Oval will host a mixture of day and night December Tests for the next seven years.

It will kick off with an India-Australia Day/night test at Adelaide Oval on December 6.

The deal also includes the Ashes series set to play out in the 2025/26 summer.

SACA President Will Rayner said the deal comes after more than 18 months of negotiations and is the first long term guarantee of this kind.

He said the agreement is not only a reward for the South Australian cricketing public but a boon for tourism.

Mr Rayner added that it will allow the association to have “a really robust business model”.

“We can start to invest more back into not only our high performance cricket program, but into community cricket as well,” he said.

“The benefits of today’s announcement will be felt through the cricket community, as well as our local and state economy.”

A mix of men’s and women’s international limited overs each year as well as the Adelaide Strikers marquee New Year’s Eve match at the Oval will also form part of the seven-year deal.

SACA has already started investing in oval members’ facilities, including an expanded Village Green, the return of Fashions on the Green and exclusive member areas in the Riverbank Stand, along with upgraded food and beverage offerings.