Tasmania's one-day wicketkeeper for the past couple of seasons, Tim Paine is ready for an extended run with the gloves in the first-class arena following the axing of Sean Clingeleffer from the state squad. Also a high quality top-order batsman when he is on song, Paine's challenge will be to combine both roles productively, which has sometimes been a problem for him. In the second half of 2007-08 he was the preferred wicketkeeper and finished the Pura Cup campaign with 346 runs at 34.60. The previous summer he had been playing as a specialist batsman when his superb 215 opening against Western Australia in his fifth first-class match placed significant pressure on Clingeleffer. A few games later, Paine was handed the gloves but the added responsibility affected his batting - his six innings during that time yielded one score in double-figures and an average of 4.66 - and the previous arrangement was restored. Still, Paine played every match in Tasmania's Pura Cup-winning season, scoring 621 runs at 31.05, and it seemed only a matter of time before he would again be behind the stumps in the first-class team.

Paine has had no such trouble with his twin roles in the limited-overs format, where he has often opened the batting. He was a consistent contributor in their triumphant 2007-08 campaign and finished with 261 runs at 37.28 along with 21 dismissals. His top score of 115 came in the final preliminary match against South Australia as the Tigers built momentum ahead of the decider. The previous year Paine was the state's highest scorer in the one-day arena with 314 runs at 31.40, and in his debut year of 2005-06, he celebrated his first state century with 111 in the ING Cup. He had been earmarked for great things when the Tigers signed him to a rookie contract at the tender age of 16. Paine, who captained the Australia Under-19 team to the 2004 World Cup in Bangladesh, has had three stints at the Academy.
Cricinfo staff September 2008

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