Ian Healy Reveals How Tim Paine Transformed As A Batsman

Former Australia wicket-keeper, Ian Healy is impressed by Tim Paine’s improved batting performance since the Ashes in England last year. Paine was awarded the Man of the Match for his 73* in the first innings against India in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide.

Paine came in at the score of 79/5 which later became 111/7. The right-hander then staged small partnerships with tailenders Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood to take his side closer to India’s total.

Australia, conceding a first innings lead of 53 runs, came blazing in the second half of the match. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ran through the visitors’ batting line-up to bundle them for a total of 36- India’s lowest ever Test score. Australia won the match and took a lead in the series.

Tim Paine tried to bat like Greg Chappell all the time: Ian Healy

After a gritty and high-pressure inning in Adelaide, the Australian skipper shunned down the detractors who have demanded his exclusion from the team owing to his low scores. Ian Healy feels that Paine used to bat conservatively like Greg Chappell for most of his career. Healy opines that Paine wasn’t going hard at bad balls, instead just looked to survive which piled up scoreboard pressure on him.

“He tried to bat like Greg Chappell all the time. The batting needs to be natural and free. Bad ball on the legs put it away, cut shot get it on. He was blocking bad balls last year and just surviving very much like a lot of the players did upfront in Adelaide,” Ian Healy told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The 56-year-old reveals that during the Ashes last year, he had advised Paine to start attacking the bad balls and keep a positive intent, especially for a wicket-keeper, who has to bat a lot with the tail.

The Tasmania keeper has improved miles in his batting in recent times. The right-hander scored a fifty in the fourth Ashes Test, followed by an average of 38 in the home series against New Zealand, and his recent performance with the bat against the Indian bowling makes Healy proud.

“All I said to him was just put bad balls away, look for them, and put them away. If it’s a clip to the leg, clip it hard. If it’s a cut shot, go at it. Bat like a keeper and that’s what he’s done,” the former Australian added.

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