‘Accidental’ skipper Tim Paine will fight to retain captaincy

WICKETKEEPER Tim Paine was never meant to captain Australia. But with the ‘C’ now against his name, the accidental skipper won’t be giving it up without a fight.

Tim Paine will captain Australia’s ODI team.

NEW Test captain Tim Paine wants to lead Australia to World Cup glory next year after being installed as an interim one-day skipper for next month’s tour of England.

Paine revealed he was told by selectors earlier this year that he was not in their short-form plans and set about focusing on prolonging his Test revival.

But the appointment of new coach Justin Langer has forced a change of thinking and, in a bid for consistent messaging on the team’s new direction, Paine was given the nod as one-day captain.

Tim Paine will captain Australia’s ODI team.

Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said a decision on a permanent one-day skipper to take the defending champions to next year’s World Cup in the UK would be made “in due course”, but Paine won’t give the job up easily.

“That’s my plan now. I certainly wasn’t planning on it, but now I am in the team, albeit as an interim captain, the opportunity is no different for me than someone like Nathan Lyon,” Paine said.

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“We are in the team and I go to England with the goal of doing well, captaining well, keeping well and batting well. It’s my spot to lose so I am going to make it extremely difficult for the selectors to change it.”

Paine said the job of redirecting the team would be easier with the same captain and coach combination in charge as much as possible, and it was extra important for the five-match series in England next month, Australia’s first international engagement since the ball-tampering scandal.

Paine was thrust into the role after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

“Justin wanted to have the messages coming from the same leaders and I certainly see the value in that,” Paine told SEN.

“When you are trying to change a few things — how you go about things with your behaviour and culture — you have consistent messaging.”

The Australian one-day squad will gather in Brisbane later this month, except any players with lingering commitments in the Indian Premier League, for a training camp before departing for the one-day series, which starts at The Oval on June 13.

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