Tim Paine has returned to Cricket Australia as a part-time coach of the Under-19 and Australia A teams, despite criticising the governing body in his book eight months ago.
Paine, 38, lashed out at Cricket Australia in his book The Price Paid: A Story of Life, Cricket and Lessons Learned, claiming that he was forced to step down as Test captain after a sexting scandal came to light.
He eventually stood down, insisting he did not want to be a ‘distraction’.
Cricket Australia have since extended an olive branch to Paine, and offered him a role in their set up. The former wicketkeeper, who retired from cricket earlier this year, says he holds no ill-will against CEO Nick Hockley.
‘I’ve said the whole way I’m obviously disagreed with how it was handled at the time, but being in someone like [Cricket Australia CEO] Nick Hockley’s shoes, leadership’s bloody tough, and you’ve got to make tough decisions,’ Paine told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tim Paine has returned to the Cricket Australia fold as a part-time coach
The 38-year-old stepped down as Test captain after a historic sexting scandal came to light
‘I’ve been in those places myself, so I understand it was not a personal thing. I’ve made a mistake and pay dearly for it. But my relationship with Cricket Australia and with Nick Hockley, and people that I worked with there, is still really strong.
‘We had a disagreement on how something should have been handled, but we’re all grown adults, and we’ve moved on. I’ve caught up with Nick multiple times, I’ve been chatting to [high-performance manager] Ben Oliver. It’s all good. It’s all water under the bridge.’
He added that he is keen to explore coaching as a post-playing career option.
‘I do see it as a genuine path, but I want to make sure that when I fully commit to it, that I’m absolutely ready for and up to it,’ he said.
‘Because I’ve been a cricketer, and I’ve been an Australian captain, I don’t want to be able to step straight into jobs like the Big Bash or Cricket Tasmania or whatever, not having done a bit of an apprenticeship.’
Paine says that he says coaching as a genuine career he can pursue after retiring
