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Paine takes leave as Ashes loom

Former Australian test captain Tim Paine is taking indefinite leave from the game on mental health grounds, all but ruling him out of the start of the Ashes and casting extreme doubt over his future in international cricket.

It is quite likely now that Paine will not play any part in Australia’s defence of the urn this season and may have worn the baggy green for the final time.

Long-time heir apparent Alex Carey and Western Australia’s Josh Inglis are the two leading candidates to take Paine’s place behind the stumps.

A week after stepping down as captain over the release of a lewd text exchange he shared with a former Cricket Tasmania staffer, Paine’s management confirmed the wicketkeeper would be taking time out of the game.

‘‘Confirming that @tdpaine36 is stepping away from cricket for an indefinite mental health break. We are extremely concerned for his and [wife] Bonnie’s wellbeing and will be making no further comment at this time,’’ Paine’s manager James Henderson tweeted yesterday morning.

Given his lack of match practice, it would be extremely difficult for Paine to take any part in the Ashes. The selectors now have the opportunity to make generational change behind the stumps and may be reluctant to alter their path once the new course is taken.

Paine, who underwent neck surgery in September, returned to the field in a second XI game for Tasmania on Monday, taking nine catches and making one and seven with the bat.

He was to make his comeback to state cricket in Tasmania’s one-day game against Western Australia, but told his state association he would be taking leave.

Paine played 35 tests for his country, 23 of them as captain after taking over from Steve Smith in the wake of the sandpaper scandal in South Africa in 2018.

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2021-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

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