Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine is ready to take up coaching duties as he joins Adelaide Strikers as the assistant coach ahead of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24 season. The 13th edition of BBL will take place from December 7 with Brisbane Heat facing Melbourne Stars in the tournament opener at The Gabba in Brisbane.
After taking part in Tasmania's Sheffield Shield First-class match against Queensland in March 2023, Paine announced his retirement. Paine will now be working with Jason Gillespie at Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming season of the BBL as the assistant coach. Jason Gillespie who is the head coach of t Adelaide Strikers was elated on Paine coming on board for the new season and he feels that he can help the players by bringing in a lot of positivity in their game.
"Tim (Paine) has all the skills to be a fantastic coach. The experience he will bring is sure to help our players in all facets of the game and bring more positive elements to the way we play,” Jason Gillespie was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The 38-year-old keeper-batter has played 154 matches in First-class cricket and scored 6,490 runs with the help of 35 fifties and three centuries. The former Australia skipper will also be joining Australia A for their red ball series against New Zealand A, starting on Monday, August 28. He will be assisting Adam Voges who guided Western Australia and Perth Scorchers to back-to-back domestic trebles across the Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup, and the BBL.
After Paine’s inclusion in the coaching setup, Voges acknowledged and said that he could help with his invaluable experience to help the young players in the team.
"I have had a fair bit to do with Tim over the journey and I'm really excited for him to start to dip his toe into coaching post-career and looking forward to him being around the group. To have a former Australian captain in amongst it and to be able to lean on him and for him to provide that experience to a couple of the younger players I think will be great,” said Voges.