Tim Paine announced as Prime Minister XI head coach for pink-ball warm-up clash against India
Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has been named the Prime Minister XI head coach for the two-day pink-ball warm-up clash against India. The contest has been scheduled during the gap between the first and the second Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series to help the visitors acclimatize to the pink ball.
The match is scheduled to be played on November 30 and December 1 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, while the second Test against Australia will begin on December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.
India have waived away any sort of warm-up matches ahead of the series but will avail some valuable practice with the pink ball, with their last day-night contest coming in early 2022.
"The 2024 Prime Minister’s XI match will be a celebration of Australia and India’s long-running cricket ties that underpin our broader bilateral economic, cultural and community links while adding to the enormous excitement surrounding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series," Cricket Australia's statement from August read (via cricket.com.au).
Tim Paine has been chosen to lead Prime Minister XI's coaching unit and will be assisted by Erin Osborne and Justin McNally.
"Cricket Australia is pleased to announce the Prime Minister's XI coaches ahead of its clash against India later this month. Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has been named as head coach, with @CricketACT coaches Erin Osborne and Justin McNally named as assistant coaches," Cricket Australia wrote on X on November 8.
The former wicketkeeper relinquished Australia's captaincy in late 2021 ahead of The Ashes and retired from all forms of cricket in 2023. As far as coaching experience is concerned, Paine has served as an assistant coach for the Adelaide Strikers in the 2023-24 Big Bash League (BBL) season, eventually rising to the head coach position in 2024 following Jason Gillespie's departure.
India last played against the Prime Minster XI in 2004
The Men in Blue's recent tours of Australia have seen them play warm-up encounters against Cricket Australia XI and Australia A. Their last match against the Prime Minister XI came in the form of a List-A encounter midway through the 2004 tour when a Rahul Dravid-led Indian contingent faced a team captained by Steve Waugh, which included current head coach Andrew McDonald.
India had recorded a memorable one-run win, courtesy of Hemang Badani's hundred and a brilliant Ashish Nehra spell in Canberra.