Steve Smith’s seat warmer and the best of a bad bunch; this arguably described best how Tim Paine was viewed by the cricket community two weeks ago.

He was made Test captain when the Australian public felt like it didn’t know its national team anymore. It simply yearned for a time when the team’s stars were national treasures who won games of cricket for fun.

But after Cape Town, the Australian cricket team would never be the same again. And it was watching Paine flip a coin that reminded devastated cricket fans of that sad reality.

These are the same fans that were once spoiled with Adam Gilchrist for their Test wicketkeeper, and fearless leaders like Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Allan Border.

Paine will never live up to any of those names. How could he?

Nonetheless, he is proving to be an exceptional wicketkeeper who has a sneaky good record with the bat, and a captain the public can be proud of.

There may have been a lengthy period of acclimatisation, but after two Tests against India it’s clear Paine isn’t going anywhere.

Opposing skipper Virat Kohli scored his 25th Test century in the second Test in Perth, but it was Paine who won the battle of wits.

His cheeky style of banter - that included calling Kohli a “big head” and accusing him of “trying to be cool” - may have been rated PG at most, but it was the perfect tone to unnerve the India skipper. Fighting Kohli’s fire with fire is never wise. It makes him stronger. Ignoring him altogether shows fear and lets him feel like, well, the King. Paine found the perfect middle ground that clearly pushed Kohli’s buttons.

He enthusiastically celebrated catching Paine out in Australia’s second innings, which may have been misplaced given his side was nearly 250 runs behind and he was yet to bat for a second time himself. Later that day he was back in the sheds for 17 and his side was destined to lose - which they did comfortably in the end.

A mute Kohli barely holding a second of eye contact with Paine when shaking hands at the end of the match said it all. Paine stood up to the King and not only lived to tell the tale, but walked away with the chocolates.

Cricket legend Shane Warne summed it up best after Paine’s first Test win.

“Tim Paine take a bow - we now have a Test captain,” he said.

Former England Test captain Michael Vaughan added: “Tim Paine is a very, very good leader who deserves all the credit.”

But Paine’s value is far more than just being a good leader. The amount of runs he brings to the side has, until this point, been largely understated.

Australia has only ever had one wicketkeeper who has averaged more with the bat in Test cricket: Gilchrist.

The left-hander made 5,570 Test runs at 47.60, including 17 centuries - a freakish record for a gloveman that batted at No.7 that may never be matched.

Paine bats in the same position and has made 886 at 36.91 after 17 Tests. Not bad for someone who in 2016 considered giving away the game to work for Kookaburra. He even struggled for state selection before last season.

Brad Haddin is the only other Australian wicketkeeper to have averaged more than 30 (32.98) in Test cricket.

Paine is yet to score a Test century, although his 61 not out in Dubai against Pakistan in October was arguably worth that.

He was also responsible for two gritty knocks in Perth which helped consolidate Australia’s lead and level the series. Paine frustrated India by withstanding the testing final overs of day three, which is when his feud with Kohli started. He then made it to lunch of day four unscathed to help wrestle the momentum back from India and take the match out of its hands.

Then there is the 34-year-old’s glovework, which is considered to be among the best seen by an Australian.

Former Test cricketer Simon O’Donnell went as far to say that Paine is better behind the stumps than both Gilchrist and Ian Healy.

“Some of the catches he’s taken off Nathan Lyon where the ball has changed heights right in front of him and he’s taken them with ease, he’s one of the better keepers we’ve probably had,” O’Donnell told SEN Breakfast.

“That may be contentious, but I think he’s got Ian Healy covered and I think he’s got Adam Gilchrist covered (as a wicketkeeper) ... He’s a superb wicketkeeper.”

And neither Healy or Gilchrist had to worry about being captain permanently.

There are still two Tests to go in the Border-Gavaskar series and there is time for things to take a turn. But as things stand, Paine is on top of all three disciplines.

He’s keeping a seat warm for no one.