Paine in miss just the start
TIM Paine has been given a snapshot of the relentless scrutiny that will shadow his every move this summer.
Neatness personified, keeper Paine was as smooth as silk behind the stumps for 51 overs of England’s innings, earning due praise for his slickness which was so effortless you had to remind yourself he was there.
Then clunk. A drifter from Nathan Lyon didn’t quite turn as much as expected and a thick edge from immovable James Vince cannoned off Paine’s gloves into the dirt as the Gabba groaned.
On the scale of missed chances, it was a long way from being a sitter yet if he had caught it, you would not have called it a snorter.
It was somewhere in between and it did not cost much as Vince progressed from 68 to 83 before being run out.
But because of Paine’s unusual passage to the team, having kept in only three Sheffield Shield games last season and none this summer, any miss he makes will spark debate over whether his lack of practice will leave him a few percentage points below his best.
Wicketkeepers are marked by brutally high standards but it’s still a fair and inescapable question.
Keeping great Ian Healy felt Paine’s hands were a little too hard in this instance, perhaps reminding Healy of the advice he received from West Indian Jeff Dujon that turned his career (“remember your hands should be like cushions’’).
If Paine’s hands were a little hard, was this the result of lack of recent practice? Has he ever kept to Lyon before?
Was it wise to ignore the claims of Peter Nevill who, according to Lyon, “knows me better than anyone else?’’ And the big one which has so far been underplayed –
KEEPERS ARE MARKED BY BRUTALLY HIGH STANDARDS BUT IT’S STILL A FAIR AND INESCAPABLE QUESTION.
given he has had so little keeping, will Paine be able to hold a solid standard for five Tests in seven weeks?
Paine appeared to rebound quickly from the setback, with his feet moving quickly in the overs after it and his glovework assured but it was still a major moment.
“It’s a massive Ashes moment,’’ Healy said on Channel 9. “It was a fair deflection but he was on the move. He needs to stay really soft and keep his shock absorbers working.’’