Paine set to coach Australia A across three series this year

Former Australia captain and current Adelaide Strikers coach Tim Paine continues his rise up the coaching ranks after being appointed Australia A coach for three series in the second half of this year.

Paine has been hired in a consultancy role that includes working across Australia A men's series and supporting the Australia women's team while balancing his Strikers coaching duties. He will lead the Australia A team in three 50-over matches and two four-day games in Darwin against Sri Lanka A in July.

He is also set to lead an Australia A squad on a tour of India in September and October for white and red-ball matches and will coach in a one-off four-day game against the England Lions that is likely to take place in either late October or early November.

Paine has been involved with Australia A and various development teams in recent years as an assistant coach. He worked under Adam Voges when the Western Australia and Perth Scorchers coach led Australia A in a home multi-format series against New Zealand in 2023.

Paine also worked as an assistant coach under CA's national development coach Lachlan Stevens last season when Australia A hosted India A and was head coach of the Prime Minister's XI when they faced India in Canberra.

It is understood that Stevens has departed his role with CA and Paine will coach Australia A against Sri Lanka A with support from new national pace bowling coach Adam Griffith, Australian women's team assistant coach Scott Prestwidge and Northern Territory Cricket's Pathway and Development coach Trent Keep.

Griffith has also been sent to the Caribbean to stand in as Australia's bowling coach for the first two Tests against West Indies with Daniel Vettori set to miss the whole tour for family reasons. Griffith will return to Australia for the A series and former New Zealand left-arm seamer James Franklin will join Australia's coaching group for the first time for the third Test and the five T20Is that follow.

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade will also join Australia's coaching group as an assistant for the T20Is in the Caribbean after working as a consultant coach for Australia's white-ball series against Pakistan last summer.

Meanwhile, uncontracted Queensland left-arm orthodox Zanden Jeh has been plucked out of Queensland Premier cricket and called into the Australia A squad as the sole specialist spinner for the series against Sri Lanka with Todd Murphy and Corey Rocchiccioli both unavailable due to signing short-term County deals.

Jeh has not played first-class cricket and has only played four second XI matches across the last three seasons for Queensland since graduating from Under-19s cricket in 2022. He has just 11 second XI wickets at 35 but took a five-wicket haul in his last match against ACT. Jeh's presence in the Australia A squad underscores the desperation of Australia's selectors to develop more left-arm orthodox bowlers.

Jeh is also part of a 12-member Cricket Australia development squad that will attend the MRF Academy in Chennai from July 31 to August 13. Jeh is the only uncontracted domestic player in the squad which includes Australia A squad members Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Ollie Peake and Campbell Kellaway.

CA's MRF Academy squad: Joel Curtis, Harry Dixon, Zanden Jeh, Campbell Kellaway, Angus Lovell, Rafael MacMillan, Ollie Peake, Lloyd Pope, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachlan Shaw