Paine wants to re-write hard luck story
  Story By Laine Clark     

Monday, 20 November 2017: Tim Paine says he doesn't want to be remembered as a selection surprise or for the pins in his finger, vowing to remain as Australian wicketkeeper.

Sick of hearing how a finger injury had stalled his Test career, Tim Paine says he wants to re-write his story by embracing a shock Ashes recall and remaining Australia's wicketkeeper.

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Paine was dubbed a future Test captain when he made his baggy green debut in 2010, playing four Tests as Australia's gloveman.

Then in November that year he broke his right index finger in a Twenty20 charity game - and Paine hasn't heard the end of it since.

Seven years, several finger operations and eight pins later, Paine - now 32 - is convinced he can change his hard luck story into a feel good yarn in the Ashes starting in Brisbane on Thursday after his surprise recall.

"I'm not here for five minutes, I'm here to make the most of this opportunity," Paine said.

"To be honest I'm sick of talking about being the person who hurt his finger and what could have been six or seven years ago.

"That's the way I am looking at this opportunity.

"Hopefully I can be sitting in a room like this in two years or three years and we're talking about the back end of my Test career, not 'geez, he could have been a good player back in 2009'.

"That's something that's really exciting for me, to be able to re-write my story a bit."

Paine's story is already a page turner.

After overcoming ongoing dramas with that finger, Paine was plucked from obscurity for the Ashes opener seven years after his last Test and 11 years since his last first class hundred.

Paine has only kept wicket in three Sheffield Shield games in the past two years.

But after overcoming his much talked about injury issues, Paine was confident he could step up for Australia again.

Hip bone grafts and eight pins now hold together Paine's troublesome finger.

However, work with Cricket Tasmania sports psychologist Emma Harris kept Paine together in the aftermath.

"Behind the stumps I was pretty good straight away (after finger injury), it didn't worry me too much," Paine said.

"But with batting, it really did affect me. I was battling mentally.

"The first step was actually going to speak to someone about that and be honest about it, that I was really battling.

"I feel in a really good place with it."






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