The rapid rise of Tim Paine

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia (CA) Chief Executive, confirmed late on Tuesday 27 March that Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft had all been charged for breaching CA’s Code of Conduct, and would take no further part in the tour of South Africa.

Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns will all have a chance to reignite their Test careers, if they get in the XI in the final Test in Johannesburg, after being called up as replacements, and the one walking out for the toss and calling the shots on the field will be Tim Paine.

The wicket-keeper will become the 46th Test captain for Australia, having done the job in a stand-in capacity on the fourth – and what turned out to be the last – day of the third Test in Cape Town once Smith and Warner were stood down from the leadership positions in the team.

It’s been quite a journey for the Hobart-born gloveman in the last few months. It was just a few months ago that his selection for the Ashes raised plenty of eyebrows. From there to becoming the first-choice wicket-keeper in all formats, and now captaining Australia, Paine’s rise has been astounding.

Tim Paine - in numbers

It wasn’t always so hunky dory for the 33-year-old. There was a time when he struggled to get into the Tasmania squad in the Sheffield Shield, Australia’s premier first-class tournament, with Matthew Wade the preferred option behind the stumps.

Paine had made his Test debut, interestingly alongside Smith, against Pakistan in July 2010 at Lord’s. Since then, the latter made massive strides in international cricket while Paine’s career proceeded in the opposite direction. After featuring in four Tests in 2010, a broken finger led to what turned out to be a seven-year Test hiatus for Paine.

Despite his best efforts, a Test recall wasn’t forthcoming – given his struggle to get into the Tasmania squad – and he almost gave up on his career in the longest format of the game. Then came the surprise call-up to the Ashes squad in November.

His selection came under scrutiny from all quarters, but Paine justified his Ashes selection with a total of 26 dismissals – 25 caught, one stumped – and scored 192 runs at a fine 48 as Australia won 4-0. The stumping was particularly memorable, with Moeen Ali the victim off a Nathan Lyon delivery as Paine whipped the bails off in a flash in the first Test.

Since then, the naysayers have been muted, and his decent run with the bat, along with obvious wicket-keeping skills, has been more in focus.

The captaincy might have come unexpectedly, and in unfortunate circumstances, but Paine was optimistic ahead of the Johannesburg Test, saying, “We’re all professional cricketers so we have to regroup, we have to come back and put on a show for the Australian public, our fans and our families.”

Australia will miss the services of Smith, Warner and Bancroft, and will be below full-strength in a Test they must win to save the series, so Paine will definitely have his task cut out. Especially with all the scrutiny around every move of the Australians at the moment.