We ran out of options – Hohns
NATIONAL selector Trevor Hohns has claimed that Tim Paine has been the best wicketkeeper in the country for some years, begging the question why Tasmania had virtually banished him for the past two seasons.
Hohns declared at a press conference in Brisbane that he was disappointed with the standard of competition from young batsmen around the country, with Shaun Marsh now getting another chance aged 34.
The one exception has been debutant opener Cameron Bancroft, and Hohns called on players around the country to follow the West Australian’s lead, with mediocre performances to no longer be tolerated.
Paine is one of the biggest bolters in Test history having not kept in a single game for Tasmania this year, behind Matthew Wade.
Hohns added another twist to the mystery behind Paine’s enigmatic career, admitting he had no explanation why the 32-year-old Ashes keeper was behind 19-year-old Jake Doran at Tasmania last season.
“Of course, it was fairly tough, we had a lengthy debate about the wicketkeeping position of course,” Hohns said.
“With Tim, I think it’s been widely acknowledged for a period of time now [that he’s an outstanding keeper]. He’s our Twenty20 keeper and performs well there, his batting has been pretty good of late and the other side of it . . . is the unconvincing performances of other contenders. Last year, I don’t know what was going on in Tasmania at that stage. That’s an issue for Tasmanian cricket.
“With regards to this season, it’s a difficult situation for Tasmania having the incumbent Test wicketkeeper [Wade] playing for them.
“A couple of weeks ago we showed our hand by asking him to play in the CA XI v England in Adelaide and from there Tasmania chose him to play as a batsman at No.4 [against Victoria].”
Former Test star Brendon Julian said on Fox Sports News that it was farcical Paine was not a Sheffield Shield keeper, yet will take the gloves for a Test match. He said Australia needed to urgently move he or Wade on to another state.
Julian said he would have had no hesitation in picking NSW candidate Peter Nevill, who seemed like he was the frontrunner.
“I would have selected Nevill. I’ve felt he’s done enough, kept really well, he’s the No.1 keeper,” he said. “I did not see Tim Paine purely because he’s not even keeping for Tasmania. It makes selectors look silly and state cricket look silly.”