Paine slams Stokes storm

England ‘hypocrites’ over Sheeran sledge

TIM Paine says Ben Stokes’ recent meltdown at being labelled “Ed Sheeran” in South Africa is about to look like crying over spilt milk now that Australia is back in town.

Having seen the systematic abuse of David Warner and Steve Smith from English crowds during the Ashes, the return of Australia to “The Bull Ring” in Johannesburg for another torrid reception has prompted Paine to express his frustration at the hypocrisy of Stokes and England.

Lookalike sledges will be the least of Warner and Smith’s concerns tomorrow morning (AEDT) as the duo prepares to face the music for the first time since Sandpapergate in front of cricket’s notoriously ruthless South African fans.

Just last month, the intimidating colosseum that is The Wanderers in Johannesburg got the better of England enforcer Stokes, who threatened to take a fan “outside” who had the gall to liken him to Ed Sheeran. According to Paine, the Stokes dummy spit showed England can dish it out, but can’t take it — as he predicted Warner and Smith to be well prepared to weather abuse far worse than a barb about a redheaded British pop star.

“Worse than being called Ed Sheeran? I think they might have,” Paine said of what Warner and Smith copped on the Ashes tour and will be exposed to again in

South Africa.

“Absolutely, all the time. And it wasn’t just Steve and Dave, it was everyone.

“This is one of the things that’s always irked me, particularly with the English. You cannot react to the crowd [and play the victim, like Stokes in Johannesburg], but then always encourage the Barmy Army to do exactly the same, and worse — abuse players.

“Like we had in Edgbaston … they clap them at the end of the day’s play and make a big point of thanking them.

“Then a little thing like that [Stokes being called Sheeran], they react and all of a sudden, ‘we’re getting abused from the crowd’. That’s international cricket, just get on with it. It frustrates me, it really does.”

Paine said Stokes’ indiscretion, where the England allrounder also called the fan a “four-eyed f---” during a Test against South Africa last month, was a timely reminder to an Australian team to keep their guard up at all times.