For Australia skipper, Tim Paine lack of international red-ball cricket for his team ahead of the all-important Ashesh 2021-22 is not really a problem. According to the Tasmanian, modern-day cricket requires teams to change gears as and when necessary and thus he is confident that his team would be able to do that too.
"In modern-day cricket, you've got to be good at changing between formats quickly. We went into an Ashes in England two years ago now, and the only red-ball game we had was against each other,” Paine told reporters in Hobart after Cricket Australia announced the schedule of its upcoming Summer of cricket.
"You've got to be adaptable, you've got to be ready to go 12 months of the year and our guys are very professional like that,” Paine added saying that since Sheffield shield would be on at the same time and hence will give players the required practice before the big series.
Paine will also become the first Tasmanian to lead an Australian side in the Hobart game for the first time after Ricky Ponting in 2010 against Pakistan. The 36-year-old will lead the men in Baggy Greens in their first-ever Test against Afghanistan at his home ground of Bellerive Oval also called Blundstone Arena in the first Summer Test starting November 27.
"It’s something I have always wanted to do. It will be a very proud moment for me to lead the Australian Test side out here," Paine who has so far played 35 Tests for the Aussie nation said. He added that playing against Afghanistan will also set them up for Ashes. “Afghanistan have got some highly talented spinners in particular that will create us a real challenge."