A case of no Paine, no gains

WITH the Tigers’ season hinging on a record run chase, Mathew Wade delivered.

Are we surprised? He’s been delivering all season. Runs in all formats, on all grounds, at all batting positions. But perhaps most importantly for a potential Ashes selection shock, he scored a mountain of runs against the Dukes ball.

Set 453 to defeat WA and keep their finals dream alive, the effort to reach 402 (51 runs short) was a valiant one.

And while it would be unfair to pick holes in an effort as brave as this, you know I am going to anyway.

I’ve no doubt that when the coaching staff and leadership group reflect on the performance, as brave as it was, the decision to send Jackson Bird in ahead of Tim Paine is one that they would like back.

The concept of a pinchhitter is a good one. It’s been used to great effect over the years across all formats. But it has to come earlier in the game when the expectation on the hitter is low. At a time when failure does not affect the game negatively.

The situation of the game that saw Bird sent in ahead of Paine had him facing the second new ball against the pressure cooker of expectation.

There was an actual run rate hanging over his head following the loss of his captain.

Had Bird been sent it at say 3-102, against a ball that was 40 overs old, he gets the ultimate freedom that a pinch-hitter requires to be successful. If he gets hot, then he shifts the momentum of the game. Perfect.

But when the run chase gets as deep as it did — thanks to the heroics of Wade — and you have an established bat at the crease (Ben McDermott who was starting to roll), it’s imperative that you provide that established player with the safety of your best available bat.

Paine is Australia’s red-ball captain, holds 16 years of firstclass experience, is an Australian T20 representative and has seen pretty much everything there is to see from the game.

His technique is exceptional and this allows him to score freely without the need to take risks.

By the time he got to the crease the Tigers had lost both Wade and McDermott, leaving him to hold the hand of the tail, rather than having the foundation of McDermott to work from. It was a blunder. But it was not the blunder that cost Tassie the game. Stumping up 197 in response to the 367 made by WA, after winning the toss and sending WA in, meant a last-day batting miracle would be required should Tassie’s hope of making consecutive shield finals remain alive.

You need a batting miracle. Who are you choosing — Jackson Bird or Tim Paine?