Story Pushing Through The Pain: A Tasmanian's Diary

[timchrist984]

Pushing Through The Pain: A Tasmanian's Diary

Friday, 1st October 2011

Hi, I'm Tim Paine! It's scary to think that just 8 months ago (January 2011) I was keeping for my country in those beautiful colours of green and gold. As you may know, so much has happened since then. I've failed a drug test, broken my legs in a car accident and seen my brother killed by a terrorist in my own backyard.

For as long as I can remember, cricket has been my refuge. Whenever I have been angry or upset, I've had cricket to turn to. Hopefully I can use cricket to get my life back together now.

This summer, I will be captaining the Hobart Hurricanes in the inaugural T20 Big Bash League competition. I will be looking to impress the national selectors by having a good season playing for the mighty tigers. As an outsider looking in, this may look like an exciting time in my life.

However, I am still recovering from my injuries, both physically and emotionally. I still dream of that night when my brother's murderer shot him through the head in cold blood. So often I cry myself to sleep, thinking about the blood seeping from his head. I am clearly not in a good mental place.

It seems so unfair that I am expected to perform on the cricket field, when I can't even sleep at night. I sometimes wonder if I am still good enough. Whether I still have the reflexes, whether I still have co-ordination, whether I still have courage to keep going, whether I still have the determination to win, whether I still have the will to play.

I have to admit the that Cricket Tasmania has not helped me at all. After I failed their drug test in March, I received a $10,000 fine from them. After I broke my legs, I received a letter asking whether I'd still be able to play during the 2011-12 season. It was only a week ago when I the CEO called me to try and get me to help with a Tasmanian Tigers promotion campaign.

This just reminded me that cricket was becoming more than just the game I loved. It was becoming a business. It is clear that cricket is no longer about the players. It is about the greedy governing bodies that try and squeeze out every last cent from those who want to support the game.

So, I have decided the best way to deal with my pain is to let it out, to share it. This will take place in the form of a diary. This is my story. My story of pushing through the pain.

NB: Credits to Chewie for the Cricket Tasmania template

 

[Rohit Doshi]

Hey Tim what happened to your other story? It was fantastic.

This is fantastic to read too!! Best of luck

 

[RPHKR]

Awesome write up.
Hope you complete this as most of career diaries are abandoned in the middle.
I will continue to read.
Career diaries are tougher to write and interesting to read.

 

[timchrist984]

Thanks for the comments guys! I decided to ditch my Australia story because it was getting boring. There wasn't much of a storyline, just lots of cricket. Hopefully this will have a more interesting storyline.

 

[Dipak]

Brilliant set up and write up. Poor little Tim Paine.

 

[Gaurav_7]

As far as I remember, there has only been one career diary on an actual cricketer here in PC. So, good luck for this. I'll definitely follow this.

 

[Aditya]

^Indeed. I was planning to do a career story on an international player just a few days ago, good to see you do this. The starting is excellent, the starting of a story is very important because the storyline depends on the start of the story and when the start is good, like it is in this story, the story gets exciting. Good luck for this!

 

[timchrist984]

Pushing Through The Pain: A Tasmanian's Diary

Saturday, 2nd October 2011

Wow, it feels so weird to have the grand final today. It's October for crying out loud. What happened to Mike Brady? The song goes 'One Day In September' not freaking October. Anyway, I expect the Cats to win easily. Collingwood will be wrecked after their game against the Hawks last week.

Speaking of footy, how the heck did Dane Swan win the Brownlow? He had a rubbish year! Yeah he was a candidate last year, but gee, he was an absolute spud this year.

It was kind of ironic that on the biggest day on the football calendar, Cricket Tasmania emailed me our fixtures and squad for the upcoming season. It may have been a joke, but it really annoyed me that they signed off the email saying 'We're looking forward to a season without ya brother bugging the whole organization'.

I thought to myself, if that isn't disrespect to the deceased, then what is? I know I may sound all mushy and sentimental, but I really loved my brother and I believe that he must be respected.

Anyway, here is the squad and the fixture list they sent me:

Squad:

First Class & One-Day
George Bailey (c)
Jackson Bird
Luke Butterworth
Steven Cazzulino
Mark Cosgrove
Ed Cowan
Matthew Day
Xavier Doherty
Alex Doolan
Brendan Drew
James Faulkner
Evan Gulbis
Ben Hilfenhaus
Matt Johnston
Jason Krejza
Nick Kruger
Adam Maher
Ashton May
Tim Paine (ME)
Ricky Ponting
Sandy Rogers
Sam Rainbird
Marc Simonds
Jeremy Smith
Tom Triffitt


Tweny20
Tim Paine (c) (ME)
Travis Birt
Mark Cosgrove
Luke Feldman
Evan Gulbis
Ben Hilfenhaus
Michael Hogan
Phil Jaques
Matt Johnston
Jason Krejza
Nick Kruger
Ben Laughlin
Rhett Lockyear
Naved-ul-Hasan
Ricky Ponting
Owais Shah

Fixtures:

Sheffield Shield Fixtures (First Class Matches)
Tuesday, 11 October 2011: WESTERN AUSTRALIA v TASMANIA @ WACA
Tuesday, 25 October 2011: QUEENSLAND v TASMANIA @ GABBA
Friday, 4 November 2011: TASMANIA v VICTORIA @ BELLERIVE OVAL
Tuesday, 15 November 2011: TASMANIA v SOUTH AUSTRALIA @ BELLERIVE OVAL
Tuesday, 22 November 2011: VICTORIA v TASMANIA @ MCG
Tuesday, 6 December 2011: NEW SOUTH WALES v TASMANIA @ SCG
Monday, 6 February 2012: TASMANIA v NEW SOUTH WALES @ BELLERIVE OVAL
Friday, 17 February 2012: TASMANIA v QUEENSLAND @ BELLERIVE OVAL
Wednesday, 29 February 2012: SOUTH AUSTRALIA v TASMANIA @ ADELAIDE OVAL
Thursday, 8 March 2012: TASMANIA v WESTERN AUSTRALIA @ BELLERIVE OVAL
Friday, 16 March 2012: FINAL

Ryobi One-Day Cup (50 Over Matches)
Sunday, 16 October 2011: WESTERN AUSTRALIA v TASMANIA @ WACA (D/N)
Saturday, 22 October 2011: QUEENSLAND v TASMANIA @ GABBA (D/N)
Wednesday, 2 November 2011: TASMANIA v VICTORIA @ BELLERIVE OVAL (D/N)
Sunday, 13 November 2011: TASMANIA v SOUTH AUSTRALIA @ BELLERIVE OVAL (D/N)
Sunday, 27 November 2011: VICTORIA v TASMANIA @ MCG (D/N)
Sunday, 4 December 2011: NEW SOUTH WALES v TASMANIA @ SCG (D/N)
Saturday, 4 February 2012: TASMANIA v NEW SOUTH WALES @ BELLERIVE OVAL (D/N)
Wednesday, 15 February 2012: TASMANIA v QUEENSLAND @ BELLERIVE OVAL (D/N)
Saturday, 25 February 2012: FINAL

KFC T20 Big Bash League (20 Over Matches)
Sunday, 18 December 2011: PERTH SCORCHERS v HOBART HURRICANES @ WACA (A)
Wednesday, 21 December 2011: SYDNEY SIXERS v HOBART HURRICANES @ SCG (N)
Wednesday, 28 December 2011: ADELAIDE STRIKERS v HOBART HURRICANES @ ADELAIDE OVAL (N)
Sunday, 1 January 2012: SYDNEY THUNDER v HOBART HURRICANES @ SCG (N)
Friday, 6 January 2012: BRISBANE HEAT v HOBART HURRICANES @ GABBA (A)
Monday, 9 January 2012: MELBOURNE STARS v HOBART HURRICANES @ MCG (N)
Wednesday, 18 January 2012: MELBOURNE RENEGADES v HOBART HURRICANES @ MCG (N)
Saturday, 21 January 2012: SEMI-FINAL 1st v 4th
Sunday, 22 January 2012: SEMI-FINAL 2nd v 3rd
Saturday, 28 January 2012: FINAL



I really think our fast bowling stocks have been dramatically weakened due to the loss of Denton and Geeves. I am also quite excited as we have signed Victorian youngster, Evan Gulbis. His batting really impressed me when we played Victoria last year. The old guard of Krejza, Bailey, Cosgrove, Cowan, Butterworth, Drew, Ponting and Hilfenhaus have all been resigned. We also have a number of rookies in the squad this season. Simonds, Rainbird, May and Bird are all yet to make their first class debut.

So, our first match of the season is against WA on Tuesday, 11th October. We will fly up next weekend and have at least 2 training sessions before the game. It looks as if Punter is going to play in the game to help prepare for his upcoming test series in South Africa. This is a massive boost for our side as he brings so much valuable cricketing knowledge and experience to the table.

Alright, I've probably bored you to death now. I hope my future diary entries will be more entertaining. I'm going to watch the grand final and relax with my family this afternoon.

Tim Paine

'How on earth did this bloke win the Brownlow?'

 

[timchrist984]

Pushing Through The Pain: A Tasmanian's Diary

Saturday, 8th October 2011

My Tasmanian teammates and I flew from Hobart to Perth today. After we touched down, we had a net session at the WACA followed by an intense fitness session. The boys had to run a 10KM time trial through the streets of Perth. 10KM doesn't usually cause much fuss, however it was 38 degrees and we had to do the run with 15 kilo packs on our backs. The big feller, Mark Cosgrove, vomited on the bus, going to our hotel. He had completed the run in a pathetic 1:21.

When we reached our hotel, our captain, George Bailey announced our room allocations. I was assigned room 18 with Ben 'Hilfy' Hilfenhaus. Now didn't get me wrong, Hilfy is a great bloke, but as a rule, he won't have more than 2 showers a week. He is the most unhygienic man I know. Thankfully, he decided to have shower after our run. Unfortunately, he fell asleep while he was in there and didn't wake up until an hour after he got in.

After Hilfy's stint in the shower, we (the whole squad) decided to go out for dinner. Ricky Ponting had the bright idea of eating Indian. We all headed down to 'The Spicy Afair' in the Perth CBD. At the restaurant, we bumped in to Mike Hussey and Mitch Johnson. They assured us they'd be lining for WA in our first match on Tuesday.

It was about 11 PM by the time we headed back our hotel. Xavier Doherty and Evan Gulbis entertained us on the bus ride back by organizing an arm wrestling contest. Punter reduced Mark Cosgrove to tears by beating him in the final.

I hope this diary entry will give people a good idea of the professionalism of our squad and Mark Cosgroves's maturity levels. Oh, and the Cats smashed the Pies last week! Jimmy Bartel played a ripper and picked up the Norm Smith. Car'n the cats!

Tim Paine

'Some of the boys were a bit scared to learn that Johnson would be playing for the Warriors'

 

[HawkAussie]

Nice start on the story and Tim Paine is my favitoure Tasmanian cricket player.

I'm also happy that someone is doing something about Tasmania yeah.

 

[Prats]

Yeah Even I love Tim Paine. Will be interesting to read this. Good start indeed!

 

[HawkAussie]

Just had a look again and the Big Bash isn't right because all the matches are away from home.

 

[timchrist984]

Yeah, I changed them because Bellerive Oval isn't in IC2010. For the other matches played there, I'll just play them at the G and pretend it's Bellerive.

 

[RPHKR]

Excellent writeup, Good storyline and great effort put forth by you.
Very interesting to read this line by line.

 

[Dipak]

Certainly one of the best stories i've come across lately. Magnificent writing skills and creativity. KIU.