The Price Paid: A story of life, cricket and lessons learned

by Tim Paine

Tim Paine was the golden child of Australian cricket. Affectionately dubbed 'The Kid' by fans, Paine was the youngest-ever contracted player in Australia at 16 years old. The wicketkeeper-batsman rose to the captain's chair as the cleanskin new leadership after the furore of the ball-tampering incident in South Africa. Paine's three-year turn at Test captaincy was turbulent on the pitch, with a slew of narrow wins and close, tough results.

Then, in November 2021, a sexting scandal saw him step down as Australia's Test captain, taking an indefinite break from the game. Paine was down - but not out.

As the scandal has played out in the public spotlight, Paine has had to grapple with the effect of the aftermath on his marriage, his career and his reputation. He made a mistake - and has paid the price for it. A high price.

In a frank, heartfelt autobiography, Tim Paine reflects on the highs and lows of his prestigious career, his time captaining the gentleman's game, what the baggy green means to him and the impact one choice can have on a life.

Genres: Sports

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Ross McLaughlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Open, honest and insightful into the world of Tim Paine & an Australian cricketer. Paine's book delves deeply into his rise to stardom, adversities with injury & the infamous sexting scandal quite a few years back.

His account is easy to draw parallels to when reflecting on my own sporting ambitions, along with making mistakes and worrying about upsetting those closest.

This one was a read I thoroughly enjoyed, having had great admiration for Tim Paine as Australia's Captain and now even more so for him as a person.

[Katie Miiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always felt indifferent to Paine while he played, but the insights to the behind the scenes, and the drama that unfolded in recent years was captivating. If you’re a cricket fan or a sports fan in general, this is the book to read!

[Cameron Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim is honest and up front about the dramas that saw him lose the Aussie captaincy, I enjoyed that he was able to write openly about it without trying to spin it. I also loved nerding out over the cricket stories. Recommend!

[Vikas Shenoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice insight into the Aussie test team from the last couple of years.

[KARL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super read, honest and raw from the heart about his mental health struggles and emotional toll once Cricket Australia brushed their hands of him.

[aatif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good insight into his life and behind the scenes of his playing career!

Candid and honest reflection of his mistake that led to his resignation as captain, really gave context to the media about this around the time!

[Phillip Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book about the challenges, physical, mental and professional, of the Australian cricketeer. Being only marginally knowledgeable about cricket, I spent a fair time looking up some terms and players but I don't downgrade the book for that.