Australian gloveman Tim Paine gathered a lot of eyeballs after his selection in the squad for the Ashes series, starting in Brisbane on 23rd November onwards. He has been recalled into the side after a gap of 7 years to feature in the high-profile series. He wants to perform the best he can in the series after injuries cut short his career.

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has revealed that he has always been a fan of Paine. But the recent addition hasn’t been a performance-based selection. He said, “The selectors have replaced a 29-year-old (Matthew Wade) with somebody who is 32… Look, I have always been a Paine fan and the upcoming Ashes would be a good opportunity for him. However, fact is that Paine hasn’t played Test cricket for seven years and, in that period, didn’t really bang the selection door with outstanding performances at the domestic level.”

Talking about it further, Hayden said, “Yet, in some ways, it’s like a compensation for the opportunities Paine didn’t get early in his career… Wade was so bad that the selectors simply had to replace him. The irony, of course, is that Paine doesn’t even keep for Tasmania. Wade does. So, it hasn’t been a performance-driven selection.”

Apart from Paine, Shaun Marsh has also been recalled into the squad to strengthen the middle-order of the Australian team.