Aussie captain in Paine

SERIES: ONLY 36 RUNS IN FIVE GAMES

London

Australian captain Tim Paine (pictured) has cast doubt over his one-day international future after his touring side were thumped 5-0 by England, who sealed a series whitewash with a one-wicket victory in Manchester on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Paine, Australia’s Test captain, was handed the role for the one-day portion of their limited-overs tour of England, but chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said at the time it was probably only a stop-gap measure.

The wicketkeeper, leading the side while regular captain Steve Smith serves a 12-month ban following a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa this year, scored just 36 runs in the series as England outclassed the World Cup holders with their powerful batting line-up.

Fellow wicketkeeper Alex Carey played the final two games in Durham and at Old Trafford, but only as a batsman, and has been appointed vice-captain for the sole Twenty20 match against England tomorrow and their T20 tour of Zimbabwe in July.

Aaron Finch is Australia’s T20 captain.

“All I know is I was coming here to do this series and I’ve said a few times before, when you are my age it’s a bit foolish to look ahead,” Paine told Cricket Australia’s website.

“Certainly, I am really looking forward to captaining the Test team and continuing how I have been playing in that format. But where I go with the rest of my cricket is something we will discuss in the coming weeks.”

Paine said his struggles with the bat in England had been tough.

“Its been difficult, you play cricket to do well and this series I haven’t done that,” Paine, whose highest score in the series was 15, added. “I haven’t played anywhere near as well as I would have liked to.

“I started off poorly and couldn’t get it back on track.”

Despite the series defeat, Paine believes it is too early to write off Australia’s chances at next year’s World Cup, being hosted by England and Wales. – Reuters