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Tim Paine has been criticized by former players and experts for abusing Ravichandran Ashwin sledding on the fifth day of the third test; Steve Smith has come under scrutiny after video footage from the stump camera in Sydney showed him dragging his boot across the batting crease.
Last update: 01/13/21 7:00 am
Australia’s captain Tim Paine has been criticized by former players and experts for Ravichandran Ashwin’s abusive sledding on the fifth day of Test 3 against India.
Australia coach Justin Langer endorsed Tim Paine’s leadership and described media criticism of Steve Smith as “rubbish” after the batsman faced accusations of playing ability in the wake of the third Test against India.
Skipper Paine was criticized by former players and pundits for abusing Ravichandran Ashwin’s bobsled when the Indian spinner hit on the final tense day of the draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Langer said Paine, who apologized for his conduct Tuesday, had not met the team’s standards in Sydney, but had “barely grown a hair” in nearly three years at the helm.
“He has been outstanding as an Australian captain in everything he does,” Langer told reporters on Wednesday.
“He had a frustrating day. We have to let him down a bit, surely.
“[He’s an] outstanding leader and will continue to be for some time. He has my 100% support. “
Paine apologized for his conduct at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Smith has come under scrutiny after video footage from the stump camera in Sydney showed him dragging his boot across the batting crease as Australia attempted to defeat India on the fifth day.
The former players accused him of trying to obliterate Rishabh Pant’s guard, but Smith said he was only marking the center as he normally would if he was hitting.
Langer refuted any suggestion that Smith sought an advantage.
“Lots of crap. If anyone knows Steve Smith, he’s kind of quirky and we’ve all laughed at that for the past two years,” he said.
“Anyone who suggests for a millisecond that he was trying to do something wrong is out of line.
“Give me a break.”
Australia coach Justin Langer has endorsed Steve Smith (pictured) and Captain Paine
The series is tied 1-1 heading into the final test in Brisbane on Friday.
Langer said starting hitter David Warner, who hit 5 and 13 at Sydney and was affected by his groin injury, would be fit to play at the Gabba.
However, rookie starter Will Pucovski was left in doubt after injuring his shoulder on the field in Sydney.
“We have high hopes that he will get up, if he doesn’t, the obvious thing will be that Marcus Harris will come in to start,” Langer said.
‘Steve is upset about it’: Paine defends Smith’s attrition
0:53 Australia captain Paine says Smith was not trying to change Rishabh Pant’s guard during Test 3 against India.
Paine defended Smith against the unsportsmanlike conduct allegations, insisting he was not trying to change the guard from India hitter Rishabh Pant.
Paine said Smith, who lost the captaincy over his role in the ball handling scandal in Newlands in 2018, is upset by the reaction to the incident and was just going through one of his many idiosyncrasies as a player.
“He’s really disappointed in the way he’s presented himself,” Paine said. “If you’ve seen Steve Smith play test cricket, that’s something he does every game five or six times a day.
“He’s always standing in the shadow of the bat. As we know, he has a lot of Steve Smith quirks and one of them is that he’s always hitting the center.
“It certainly wasn’t changing [Pant’s] guard and I imagine if it was, the Indian players would have kicked a little stinky at the time.
“That’s something I’ve seen Steve do many times in test matches and [Sheffield] Shield games I’ve played with him. “
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