The Australian skipper, Tim Paine has known to carry injury in his fingers. There was a time when he had undergone seven operations on his right index finger after a nasty break in 2019, which almost brought closure to his career. He led Australia’s successful Ashes 2019 defense, on Wednesday revealed his thumb was broken during the final Test against England at the Oval. He also added that fast bowler Peter Siddle was battling through a hip injury he sustained early in the match.

Paine’s thumb injury wasn’t serious and Cricket Australia’s medical staff expect him to be back to training soon. Describing the same in his column for The Australian, Paine said, “There’s a bit of recovery to be done. My thumb was broken towards the end of that Test, but it is not displaced, so I should be right to get back into training early.”

The Australian skipper revealed he will not be taking part in the Big Bash League this season to preserve himself for Test cricket.

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Paine further added, “I’m keen to see just how far we can take this team and I’ve decided to give up the BBL so I can concentrate on red-ball cricket and being in the best place to lead them. Being a captain is draining and I think I should take every chance to recharge my batteries. I’ll go back to the BBL when I’m finished, but for now, my focus is on my main job.”

Meanwhile, lavishing praise on Siddle, who was included in the squad ahead of Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson ahead of the Oval Test, suffered a hip injury on an opening day. 

Talking about Siddle, Paine said, “He has copped a bit of criticism for not bowling as well as he we know he can, but the team knows just how heroic he was. A lot of other people wouldn’t have bowled again in the match, but he pushed on because he didn’t want to leave Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to do extra work. He’s a warrior, Sidds, and we love him deeply for that.”

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Australia play their next Test against Pakistan on November 21 at the Gabba. Before that, they will be playing a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and three against Pakistan.