Australia v New Zealand: Tim Paine bats without fear to boost total on second day at MCG

Australia has been shying away from appointing wicketkeepers captains for more than a century because of the fear of putting too much on their plate but Tim Paine has handled it all in his own orderly, calm, confident, occasionally cheeky way.

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There were times early in his Test captaincy career when Tim Paine heard his name and title on the car radio and smiled at the strangeness of it all.

“Test captain Tim Paine believes ...’’ came the news report and Paine would shake his head and giggle. Was it really me?

It was indeed but those early private moments alone were about the only time Paine has looked or sounded surprised by what he was doing.

Given he was called aside in early morning warm-ups to be appointed Test captain mid-Test in Cape Town during the ball-tampering affair Paine had a right to occasionally feel lost, hassled, overburdened or all of the above.

But there has been none of that.

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Tim Paine plays a hook shot on his way to 79. Picture: Michael Klein

Australia has been shying away from appointing wicketkeepers captains for more than a century because of the fear of putting too much on their plate but Paine has handled it all in his own orderly, calm, confident, occasionally cheeky way.

At the MCG on Friday he played a perfect captain’s innings by lifting the tempo with his breezy, upbeat 79 just as Australia was dog-paddling in quicksand.

He batted without fear as captains often try to do.

As Adam Gilchrist used to say and prove, that is the difference between batting six or seven. The lower order have a licence to have more of a crack. The penalties for failure are not as severe.

New Zealand are well aware Paine has been dismissed nine times in Test cricket with his pet pull shot and baited him accordingly.

But he was up for the challenge and once even rushed three metres down the deck towards Neil Wagner before one shot over his shoulder. Sometimes he ducked. Sometimes he had a crack.

Keepers often love cross batted shots with some saying the pain in their oft-sore fingers is not as great when they are slicing and dicing pulls and cuts rather than playing big drives and Paine played about three versions of the pull to keep it wide or short of fieldsmen.

Paine goes the reverse sweep. Picture: AFP

The likelihood Australia will win this series to go with its defeat of Pakistan and retention of the Ashes will ensure that Paine is retained for the mid-year series against Bangladesh and probably next season against India which shapes as one of the biggest home series for decades.

He has earnt that right now. That decision will allow Australia time to unearth his successor.

Former selector Greg Chappell said he would prefer to see Steve Smith simply left to bat unburdened by any leadership role and the small field of rivals includes Travis Head, Pat Cummins with Marnus Labuschagne an option further down the track.

Paine’s most impressive moments are often when things are running against him.

When he makes a bad DRS review there is no sense toys will fly out of the cot and last season against India, when the entire squad was cracking under deep pressure, he was the coolest, calmest voice of the lot of them.

It seems his many years injured and outside the cricket bubble has given Paine a sense of perspective that players who have never left the bubble have struggled to gain.