Zeeraq
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2011
- Runs
- 5,437
Australia skipper Tim Paine rued Australia's 'disappointing' performance after the 137-run defeat against India in the third Test at Melbourne, but didn't shy away from praising the visitors' bowling attack.
India's bowlers have done a fantastic job all year round, starting with the tour of South Africa in January. They've shaped up as a well-rounded unit and have given teams a run for their money. It all came together fantastically in their final Test of 2018.
In an effort spear-headed by Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed nine wickets for the match, they bowled Australia out for 151 and 261 to earn India a big victory and a 2-1 series lead in the four-Test series. Tim Paine suggested that India's bowling attack might be among the best ones Australia's batsmen have ever faced.
Explaining Australia's defeat he said, "it's inexperience, it's pressure, it's India's bowling attack being probably as good as probably most of these guys have ever faced."
Paine accepted that the unavailability of Steve Smith and David Warner has left the Australian batting devoid of experience. But he called on his team to keep improving.
"It's pretty clear, if you take two or three of the best players out of anyone's line-up in the world, you're going to struggle a little bit at times and have inconsistent performances. That's what we are seeing."
"In this game, no doubt we were a little bit disappointing. That's going to happen from time to time - we've just got to try and make sure we're improving and making sure our good and our bad is a little bit closer together than what it has been in the last couple of Test matches. But I think it's pretty common you see that when you've got inexperienced players in your top 6 against high-quality bowling."
Australia's fortunes in Test cricket have been rather lean – since the ball-tampering scandal that resulted in the suspensions in March, the team has won just one (the second game of this series at Perth) out of the six following Tests and suffered four defeats. Paine accepted that things have been a bit frustrating for his side, but said there was a silver lining to it all.
"While at the moment it's challenging and everyone's frustrated, it is what it is and everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and we're getting guys who are getting experience of high-pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job... The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do, it will make a huge difference."
By Paine's own admission it seems like Australia aren't in the highest spirits, but a win at Sydney to draw the series against the No.1 ranked side could do plenty to fix that. Paine's men already have a blueprint to follow – the one laid out by India at Melbourne. "We'd like to get to Sydney, win the toss and have the same thing... reversed," Paine said.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/961571
India's bowlers have done a fantastic job all year round, starting with the tour of South Africa in January. They've shaped up as a well-rounded unit and have given teams a run for their money. It all came together fantastically in their final Test of 2018.
In an effort spear-headed by Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed nine wickets for the match, they bowled Australia out for 151 and 261 to earn India a big victory and a 2-1 series lead in the four-Test series. Tim Paine suggested that India's bowling attack might be among the best ones Australia's batsmen have ever faced.
Explaining Australia's defeat he said, "it's inexperience, it's pressure, it's India's bowling attack being probably as good as probably most of these guys have ever faced."
Paine accepted that the unavailability of Steve Smith and David Warner has left the Australian batting devoid of experience. But he called on his team to keep improving.
"It's pretty clear, if you take two or three of the best players out of anyone's line-up in the world, you're going to struggle a little bit at times and have inconsistent performances. That's what we are seeing."
"In this game, no doubt we were a little bit disappointing. That's going to happen from time to time - we've just got to try and make sure we're improving and making sure our good and our bad is a little bit closer together than what it has been in the last couple of Test matches. But I think it's pretty common you see that when you've got inexperienced players in your top 6 against high-quality bowling."
Australia's fortunes in Test cricket have been rather lean – since the ball-tampering scandal that resulted in the suspensions in March, the team has won just one (the second game of this series at Perth) out of the six following Tests and suffered four defeats. Paine accepted that things have been a bit frustrating for his side, but said there was a silver lining to it all.
"While at the moment it's challenging and everyone's frustrated, it is what it is and everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and we're getting guys who are getting experience of high-pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job... The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do, it will make a huge difference."
By Paine's own admission it seems like Australia aren't in the highest spirits, but a win at Sydney to draw the series against the No.1 ranked side could do plenty to fix that. Paine's men already have a blueprint to follow – the one laid out by India at Melbourne. "We'd like to get to Sydney, win the toss and have the same thing... reversed," Paine said.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/961571
