Cricket: Paine-ful news for Australia

SYDNEY: Australia’s back-up wicket-keeper Tim Paine was ruled out for the summer, with officials announcing he will undergo further surgery on a fractured finger immediately. The Tasmanian wicket-keeper’s battered right index finger will make him unavailable for the next three to four months, said Cricket Australia in a statement. Paine’s right index finger was broken during a Twenty20 last November when he was struck by a rising delivery. “I’m disappointed with this latest setback,” said the 27-year-old, who is the established fill-in for wicket-keeper Brad Haddin.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2011.