Tim Paine says current coronavirus shutdown could extend his cricket career “for a year or another two years”
Australian Test captain Tim Paine has said the current coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19) shutdown could extend his cricket career and indicated he intends to play on “for a year or another two years”. Australian Test captain Tim Paine says players won’t be “greedy” with Cricket Australia and the players union to discuss finances this week ahead of new contracts being awarded. Australia Test captain Tim Paine says players want to keep game in best possible health during coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic as pay negotiations ramp-up
Tim Paine says:
I’m loving the role and the job I’ve got at the moment. I’m feeling really good, I started to play well again at the back end of last summer. This rest may do a number of us the world of good. We can hopefully keep the Test team together that we’ve had over the last year and keep building on the momentum that we’ve got.
I certainly plan to be a part of the next little bit of that future. I’ve got plans and things that I want to do post cricket. I think I’ve got a fair bit to offer back here in Tasmania when my Test career ends in a year or two.
Tasmania has always done very well on a smallish budget. We’re no different from the big states and Cricket Australia (CA). people are going to have to be creative going forward. The same as all the footy codes, in the way you look at your youth pathway systems and how you’re trying to develop your best talent.
Quite clearly in most sports, the money is going to be cut back in nearly all areas. It’s really important now we get the right people in the right jobs and start being creative about how we move forward and how we can cut costs but still produce great state teams. The best Test team in the world is what we want to achieve and if we have to cut money and find diff ways to do that, then so be it.
Players need to know the absolute financial positions of the game and the players aren’t going to be greedy. Our livelihood, all the people associated with the ACA, and the players’ association, their livelihood is dependent on the game of cricket being healthy.
So at the moment if a pay cut for us is on the cards and that keeps our game thriving well into the future, then that’s something we’ll certainly have to look at. Paine wasn’t that surprised at the financial state of cricket in Australia, given what was happening with the economy and in the business world.
I think commercially a lot of sponsors have been pretty hard hit and it’s going to hit Cricket Australia at some stage then as well. I think there’s a bit of safeguarding towards the potential of India not coming (on a tour in December/January) which is worth something like 250 to 300 million dollars.
Paine said he hasn’t been briefed on any contingency plan if the coronavirus prevented the India tour. I haven’t just yet and I don’t want to be. I’m hoping that they get here, that would solve a lot of issues. I know there have been some early talks with Cricket Australia and the government around the potential of what could be done, chartering planes and getting them in isolation when they get here to make sure that we can get India here. But apart from that, I’ve only heard a few things on the rumor mill about maybe New Zealand coming out and us going there.
