New Australia skipper Tim Paine leads the team on his terms

Newly appointed Australia skipper Tim Paine has not wasted any time in stamping his authority on the team. While it is an immense sense of pride to simply don the baggy green cap for the country, it is an even greater honor to lead the side in perhaps the greatest of stages. The 33-year old, who had made his much-anticipated comeback into the grand scheme of things will be expected to relinquish the captaincy following the conclusion of the Test match against the Proteas at Johannesburg.

The customary handshake

The pre-match handshake prior to the start of play is not something that happens quite often in cricket. Thus, prior to the start of play and just after the completion of the national anthems of both sides, Tim Paine and the rest of his Australian side went ahead and walked past the Proteas in a bid to shake their hands, something that he was lauded for and depicting a hallmark of his sportsmanship.

When asked whether he instigated it, Paine said, ‘Yeah I did. I have been watching a lot of Supersport, and there is a lot of soccer on and I notice that they do that every game. I just through that cricket is a gentleman’s game, and it was something I spoke to our players about bringing in.’ He continued, ‘ It’s not something we are going to do every Test match, but it is not a bad way to start a Test series. It is probably something we will look to use going forward as well.’

Cleared it with Faf before the start of play

‘I think it’s just a good show of sportsmanship and respect.’ Speaking further on the gesture Paine went ahead and said, ‘I spoke with Faf (du Plessis) and he was pretty happy about doing it. Hopefully, teams in South Africa will continue doing this from here on out.’

The gesture comes following a week of trauma for both sides and the Australians, in particular, following the terrible ball-tampering incident.

Here is what Tim Paine had to say