Playing for keeps: Leadership a factor in picking Paine's heir

The man who – more than any other – paved the path for international wicketkeepers to be selected on the basis of their batting believes selectors will look beyond candidates' credentials with simply bat and gloves when deciding on Tim Paine's long-term Test successor.

Wayne Phillips, who earned his Baggy Green as a dashing opener but became Test keeper when Rod Marsh retired in 1984 despite having previously filled the role just once in first-class cricket, claims it's the leadership Paine provides that will be as sorely missed as his on-field skills.

Paine will lead Australia into the Vodafone Ashes series against England that begins December 8 but, at age 36 and still sidelined as he recovers from recent surgery to repair a damaged disc in his neck, his longer-term playing future remains unclear.

The debate as to his likely successor in the Test team gained energy last week when Queensland keeper Jimmy Peirson scored his second century in as many Marsh Sheffield Shield appearances.

Peirson is one of three front-line candidates for the future job – along with South Australia's Alex Carey and Western Australia's Josh Inglis – and his recent run of batting form has earned him strong backing, including from his Bulls skipper Usman Khawaja.

But Phillips, who played all but nine of his 27 Tests as keeper-batter, says Australian cricket's previous reluctance to appoint a keeper as permanent Test captain has been exposed as a folly and that leadership capabilities should be a key criterion in naming the next gloveman.

"What we see from Tim Paine and the leadership he has provided, it forms what I think will be the standards now required from the man in the gloves, who stands in such a good position and gets a feel for what's going on in the game," Phillips told cricket.com.au.

"(As keeper) you're getting such a good look at what's happening, and from there you can provide guidance, advice and a bit of a keener idea of where the team's at exactly, in regards to the game situation.

"So while that won't be the selectors' strongest consideration I wouldn't have thought, it's certainly something they'll take into account and say 'well he's going to be here for a while, he's integral to the team's fabric and he sets a standard' – that's an important part of the agenda.

"There will always be weight given to batting, and the responsibility or opportunity to make a contribution there as well.

"And of course, you only tend to notice a wicketkeeper in the field when there are errors because the public view is 'oh, he's got the gloves on so he's expected to take that catch, or grab that throw'.

"But there's also those little things that aren't obviously noticeable to people, and that's what the selectors are looking for to make what we end up with is the best product, and one that fits all those needs nicely."

If current and future leadership are at the forefront of selectors' thinking, then Carey would seemingly retain his place at the head of the queue for Paine's replacements.

The national panel – which has recently undergone a personnel change with long-serving chair Trevor Hohns standing down and ex Test allrounder Tony Dodemaide installed alongside new chair George Bailey and men's team coach Justin Langer – have already earmarked Carey as a future leader.

Not only was the 30-year-old named captain of the Australia A outfit that played a tour match against the Indians prior to last summer's Test series, he led the men's ODI team to a series win in the Caribbean earlier this year in the absence of regular skipper Aaron Finch and vice-captain Pat Cummins.

In addition, Carey was included as Paine's understudy in the squad for this year's Test tour to South Africa that was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, and his form with bat and gloves since then has been impressive.

Indeed, despite Peirson's recent purple patch, Carey's first-class return since that Test touring party was named last January remains marginally better across the dual disciplines than both his well-credentialled rivals.

He has scored more first-class runs at a superior average (434 at 62) than Peirson (411 at 52) and Inglis (400 at 40 including a brief stint in the UK county competition this year) although Peirson is the only one of the trio to have completed multiple centuries in that time.

Carey's SA captain Travis Head claimed his deputy might have added to his hundreds tally had there been more time available in the Shield match against Queensland, which ended in a draw last Monday, with Carey unbeaten on 66 from 115 balls faced.

"He played really well, and probably left a 170 or so out there," Head said in the wake of Carey's atypically watchful innings that spanned almost two-and-a-half hours as he guided the Redbacks to safety on the final evening.

"His natural game is very aggressive, but he showed he can do it under pressure and looked like he had full control over what he was doing.

"I think he's the full all-round package.

"His glovework is very, very good and he brings good aggression where we're batting him, at number five, and if he was playing in the Test team, he'd be at six or seven.

"He can take the game forward, he plays spin really well and he plays fast bowling really well, but we also saw that he can knuckle down and is able to shut a game out.

"So I think he's got all the aspects covered."

While the keeping craft does not lend itself to bald statistical analysis – dismissals completed and byes conceded don't reflect the intricacies of the job, nor the difficulties overcome – it's an area where Carey's credentials also enhance his claim.

Since the start of the 2019-20 Shield summer, his return of 1.95 dismissals per first-class match is marginally higher than Inglis (1.88) and Peirson (1.84) although that metric is entirely dependent on respective bowling attacks creating regular chances.

Peirson is the only one of the trio not to have completed a stumping in that time, despite regularly keeping to leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, who is currently a member (with Inglis) of Australia's T20 World Cup squad.

And the rate which each keeper has conceded byes over that two-year stretch – another statistic that does not adequately reflect pitch conditions and umpiring calls – shows Carey the least profligate (two per innings) ahead of Peirson (2.83) and Inglis (4.06).

However, since selectors named the South Africa touring party last January the rate at which byes have been conceded by Carey (1.55 per innings) and Peirson (1.69) has narrowed significantly, which reflects Khawaja's belief his 29-year-old Queensland teammate is going from strength to strength.

"His keeping has always been second to none, it's never been a thing," Khawaja said of Peirson in the wake of this week's drawn Shield game in Adelaide.

"Even that dropped catch (from Head, off the bowling of spinner Matt Kuhnemann on the final day) was so rare, he's so good up to the stumps.

"It's just him becoming a consistent batter, and in the last couple of years he's become that batter for us in one-day cricket and four-day cricket. I think he's ticked both boxes there.

"The way he's batting right now is as good as anyone in Shield cricket, honestly.

"It's a pleasure to watch him, and I've seen him develop and mature as a player.

"His front foot defence, I love watching it, and the pressure he can put back on a team.

"It will be very interesting to see what happens (with the Test keeping job).

"I'm just really glad he's putting his hand up because all the hard work he does, he deserves it."

Peirson also boasts significant captaincy experience, having led Queensland in 20 Shield matches (including the 2017-18 final win over Tasmania) and a Cricket Australia XI against West Indies in 2015, as well as a handful of domestic one-day fixtures.

He will also lead the Brisbane Heat in the KFC BBL this summer.

Paine is the first wicketkeeper to be appointed Australia's full-time Test captain in more than 120 years, with stand-in skippers Adam Gilchrist (six Tests) and Barry Jarman (one) the only others to take on the dual role since the start of the 20th Century.

If recent selections provide a guide, it would appear Inglis has been earmarked for the T20 job once Matthew Wade's time is over and Carey seems to have a stranglehold on the ODI position given his performances at the 2019 ICC World Cup and subsequent leadership roles in that format.

But regardless of who selectors see as the heir to Paine when he hangs up his gloves, Phillips believes none of the three leading candidates will be able to fill the position across all Australia men's teams.

"I think now with so much T20 and 50-over cricket, I don’t know that person can do all three formats of the game," he said.

"So we have to change our thought processes a bit to reflect the changes in the game, a bit like those old days of the keeper batting at number eleven.

"There's a reason it just doesn't happen any more."