Paine’s a must in the top job

AUSTRALIA’S cricket selectors are crossing their fingers in the hope that Tim Paine can cross his for the rest of the summer.

There are any number of moving parts in the top six places in the order, but Australia needs No.7 to be a lock.

Paine says he will be fine for the Perth Test after receiving treatment on the index finger which had seven operations in as many years.

That is good news because Australia needs him far more than it thinks it does.

When Josh Hazlewood was recently appointed joint vicecaptain of the Test team with Mitchell Marsh they were under instructions to serve rather than lead.

Australia pointedly wanted deputies happy to support the captain rather than secretly campaign for his job.

The thinking was in no way were they being automatically groomed for the top job.

Marsh is no longer in the starting XI; Hazlewood is best left to bowl and serve his captain; Aaron Finch and Peter Handscomb are fighting for their Test futures.

Usman Khawaja or Travis Head are not perfect choices but have appeal in different ways. Khawaja is the most established member of the top order, a state captain and a solid thinker on the game.

Head, though just 24 and still on trial as a Test player, was a South Australian captain at 21 and a player of immense promise.

But Paine remains the best option. Australia has lost three of four Tests since Paine took over from Steve Smith, yet his star shines brightly.

At press conferences he has a Mark Taylor bearing about him where it is difficult to tell from his body language whether Australia has won or lost, just the sort of steadfast approach that anchors volatile emotions in a turbulent era.

It should not be forgotten that he is doing a job that only four keepers in Australian history have done, none more than eight Tests.

Even decorated figures such as Ian Healy and Rod Marsh never captained Australia.

Paine may have conceded 21 byes in the second Indian innings, but that included some wild leg-side work from Mitchell Starc that he would have needed a butterfly net to reach.

The best bits of his glovework are exceptional, particularly the elite art of taking catches over the stumps to slow bowlers.

Former Australian keeper Wally Grout spoke for keepers from all eras when he said “never give a sucker an even break’’.

Six decades later his words are still resonating.