Paine backs Smith's call to prioritise Ashes

Australia's men's Test captain Tim Paine admits he's 'selfishly' hoping star batter Steve Smith might opt out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE to ensure he's at peak fitness for the subsequent Ashes series later in the year.

Smith has been battling tennis elbow in his left arm as the result of a change to his batting grip last summer, and told cricket.com.au in an exclusive interview he will prioritise the Vodafone Ashes (scheduled to start December 8) ahead of the T20 showcase event that begins in October.

The 32-year-old remains confident he'll be sufficiently fit to take his place in both campaigns, but noted if he was compelled to choose then Test cricket – and particularly an Ashes campaign against England – remains his "main goal".

Paine said today that while the immediate focus was for Smith to regain full fitness, which hopefully enables him to return to competitive cricket in time for the T20 World Cup, his personal preference was for his captaincy predecessor to be in prime shape for the Test summer.

And he added there was more than Smith's immediate playing future at stake, with the world's second-ranked Test batter having previously suffered from elbow problems which is a similar injury to that which afflicted India great Sachin Tendulkar in the latter stages of his celebrated career.

"What's important for me is that he (Smith) is fit to go, whether that's at the T20 World Cup or for the Ashes," Paine said in a media conference to promote today's release of tickets for the upcoming men's and women's international seasons.

"Obviously from a selfish point of view, I would love him to be one hundred per cent fit and if that means he misses that (T20 World Cup) tournament, then so be it.

"But I think Steve's a professional, he'll know where his body's at and if he doesn't feel like he's right then he'll make the right call.

"He's the best player in the world and you take the best player of any side out, it creates a bit of a hole so fingers crossed his elbow comes good.

"He's been dealing with it for a while now and finds a way to get up, but as he gets older it probably gets a bit harder to keep pushing through it.

"So it's important now we've got the time (in the playing schedule) that he takes that time, and tries to get one hundred per cent right, not just for the Ashes but to try and prolong his career for another four, five, six years."

Paine reiterated the men's team had set themselves two clear goals for the remainder of this year and the home summer – to win the T20 World Cup (the only existing piece of ICC silverware to have so far eluded them) and to retain the Ashes urn they've held since the 2017-18 home season.

He's unfazed that a core of his Test outfit will be deprived of red-ball cricket before the summer's opening Test – against Afghanistan at Hobart – and pointed out their successful Ashes defence in the UK two years ago came immediately after the ICC World Cup which meant a lack of long-form match practice for many players.

However, he also acknowledged Australia might be forced to enter that historic maiden Test against Afghanistan (beginning November 27) without a number of key personnel if Aaron Finch's team reaches the final of the T20 tournament which is scheduled to finish on November 14.

With return travel from the UAE compounded by the current requirement for overseas travellers to complete 14 days of COVID-19 quarantine upon arriving in Australia, that would potentially render dual-format players unavailable for the start of the Test summer.

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc, currently in St Lucia preparing for the T20 and ODI series against West Indies beginning on Friday, believes players involved in the World Cup should still be available for the Afghanistan Test regardless of timelines provided that game was staged under "full quarantine" protocols.

But Paine conceded there remained a chance the short turnaround might dictate those players involved in the final stage of the T20 World Cup struggle to make muster for the Hobart match, and also have minimal red-ball exposure before embarking on six Test matches across seven weeks.

"We'd like our T20 side to go as deep as they can in the tournament, so if they do it looks like a couple of weeks quarantine when they get home and it will probably be tight to be available for the (Afghanistan) Test match," he said.

"But our players have come into an Ashes series in England before without any red-ball cricket, and if we have to do that then I think now in the professional era of international cricket guys can cope with it and do it really well.

"Internally and externally, we've been really clear on the two huge goals that are ahead - one of those is the T20 World Cup and the other one's the Ashes - and we want all of our best players on the park for a majority, if not all of those tournaments, if we can."

In addition to the history of leading Australia into their inaugural Test against Afghanistan, Paine is eyeing the honour of playing his maiden Test in his home town when Hobart's Blundstone Arena hosts its first long-form international fixture since 2016.

While he's thrilled by the prospect of leading his team onto a field where he had his first taste of watching live Test cricket as a child, and has since played so often for Tasmania across his 15-year first-class career, he's most excited about the opportunity it presents for local fans.

Image Id: 61CB35218BC041F4862156D4CC748D97 Image Caption: A young Tim Paine in action in the Sheffield Shield in 2006 // Getty

"I'm a very proud Tasmanian so I can't wait to have the Australian team down here," he said.

"It's where I grew up on the hill here watching David Boon and Ricky Ponting and I think it's important that young Tasmanian cricketers and young Tasmanians are exposed to international players they can idolise.

"We've got Patrick Cummins, there's going to be (Afghanistan's) Rashid Khan, there's going to be Steve Smith and David Warner so for Tasmanian kids and the Tasmanian public in general to get out and see world-class players like that is going to be awesome."

He also hopes the current restrictions on overseas travel due to COVID-19 are able to be eased to allow members of England's Barmy Army supporter group to attend at least some of the Ashes Tests that begin at the Gabba in Brisbane.

"There's nothing better than playing in front of crowds, and the Barmy Army certainly add to it," Paine said of the notoriously vocal visiting fans.

"It makes Test cricket and the Ashes what it is, the Barmy Army are part of the history of the Ashes and it's something the players love, whether they're ripping into you or barracking for the English.

"It just adds to the Test match and adds to the theatre."

Qantas Tour of the West Indies 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.

West Indies T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr

T20 series
(all matches at the Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia)

First T20: July 10, 9.30am AEST (July 9, 7.30pm local)

Second T20: July 11, 9.30am AEST (July 10, 7.30pm local)

Third T20: July 13, 9.30am AEST (July 12, 7.30pm local)

Fourth T20: July 15, 9.30am AEST (July 14, 7.30pm local)

Fifth T20: July 17, 9.30am AEST (July 16, 7.30pm local)

ODI series
(all matches at Kensington Oval, Barbados)

First ODI (D/N): July 21, 4.30am AEST (July 20, 2.30pm local)

Second ODI (D/N): July 23, 4.30am AEST (July 22, 2.30pm local)

Third ODI (D/N): July 25, 4.30am AEST (July 24, 2.30pm local)

* Details of five-match T20 tour of Bangladesh are yet to be announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Tours are subject to agreement on bio-security arrangements and relevant government approvals.