Sydney, Aug 20 : Tim Paine has said a successful comeback for Australia A in England will help him to start the domestic season in career-best form with the gloves.
Paine's batting was decent, he averaged 34 and made one half-century, but his wicketkeeping was more encouraging, claiming 13 catches and two stumpings across the four matches on England tour.
Having left for England a month ago with self-doubt after his yearlong break, his previous comeback attempt was thwarted by a recurrence of a finger injury, the highly rated Tasmanian said he was buoyed by the manner of his return, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
"I'm definitely coming back very happy with the way I kept. By the [England] Lions game, I was probably back to as well as I can remember keeping ...
I was right on top of it, right back from where I left. I'm now coming back to start the year for Tasmania in as good a place as I've been in my career before," he said.
Paine's finger is not entirely free of pain, but he insisted it was no longer at a level that either hindered him with bat or gloves or prevented him from playing altogether.
He said he and his Australia A teammates were disappointed not to have notched a win but insisted the goal of exposing second-tier players to English conditions ahead of next year's Ashes series had been successful.
Australia A's leading run-scorer for the tour was captain Ed Cowan, who scored 366 runs at an average of 61, including a century and a 99.
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