Tim Paine 'pretty confident' of leading Australia during the Ashes

Australia Test skipper Tim Paine is extremely confident of full recovery and fitness for the upcoming Ashes series, scheduled to begin Down Under from December. Earlier the wicketkeeper-batter underwent surgery on his neck.

Cricket Australia (CA) announced the decision of Paine to undergo surgery due to problems faced in the neck area caused mainly due to bulging. Although Paine didn’t face any problems while doing light workouts, it became a hindrance for him during some heavyweight and intense training time. Currently, Australia has no Tests till November and Paine has sufficient time to recover from the surgery and return to full training.

“The precedent has been set, guys have got back from it reasonably quickly,” he told SEN Radio. “We’ve been talking to all those players, their physios, their surgeons to track their rehab plans and get me back as quick as we can.”

Paine further opined that after resuming full training, he is confident of returning to the action within a week, which also means Paine is looking forward to leading his team against England in the Ashes.

“I am pretty confident outside of that six weeks I’ll be ready to go within a week. That gives me plenty of time (for the Ashes).

“I won’t be as fit as strong as I’d like to be. If I am moving freely, I ‘II give a good first of it.”

Tim Paine happy with the decision of going under the knife

The wicketkeeper-batter also felt happy and content with the decision of getting done with the neck surgery. Initially a bit reluctant for it, Paine finally decided to get the treatment done so he can focus more on training with great speed and intent.

“I am pretty happy with the decision,” said Paine. “After the surgeon had a look in there, he said it was a good decision to get it done.”

Paine concluded by saying that his decision to go under the knife was to represent his state team Tasmania after his Australia career is over. Paine has been a long servant of Tasmania and has contributed richly to their success as a team for the past several years.

“I want to keep playing for Tasmania after my international career. To have it fixed and out of the way was the correct decision long term.” Paine said.