NOT A TOTAL DIS-ASHTER
Tim Paine tells Aussies to keep fighting after urn-believable Stokes innings
AFTER being overwhelmed by individual brilliance at Headingley Australian captain Tim Paine is preparing to pick his players up off the canvass adamant their best is good enough to still win the Ashes.
In the wake of the most “intense” game he’d been a part of, Paine brushed aside controversies over dud umpiring calls and talked down concerns over moments of madness that cost his team a 2-0 series lead.
Paine conceded to being “hurt” after Ben Stokes took his team to pieces at Headingley with an innings unlikely to be bettered by anyone any time soon.
But he said he wouldn’t lose sight of the fact Australia had been in a winning position and that with better execution retaining the Ashes, and winning the series at Manchester, was well within reach.
“The facts are we’ve been in a position to win every Test match that we’ve played in so far. We’re doing something right, we have to keep believing in that,” Paine said.
“We think we’ve got some pretty good plans. If we can continue to execute on skill and not get caught up on emotion we think the next two Tests will be the same.
“Ben Stokes was playing out of his skin. He managed to do things that you normally wouldn’t and you’ve got to give him credit.”
“Losses like this hurt, but we’re not going to sulk about it for long.”
Paine refused to criticise umpire Joel Wilson who shot down an LBW appeal when England needed two runs to win, which replays showed was out. Australia was out of reviews at that point.
He said he would have liked to have done better as captain too, and if he had his time again would have talked to his bowlers more as Stokes went on his rampage.
The captain is under the spotlight himself, after making just 12 runs in Leeds, and only 77 for the series, then letting the game get away from him in the final hour.
Paine conceded Australia’s second innings batting effort, making just 249, also wasn’t enough to grind England into the ground and contributed to the defeat.
But he wasn’t going to be washed away in the emotion of an epic Test match, knowing Australia bowled England out for 67 on day two, and were just one ball away from reversing a result that has brought the series to life.
“We don’t talk about emotion, you have got to stick to the facts and the facts are – like I said to the boys – we have been in a position to win every Test match so we are clearly doing something right,” he said.
“Instead of worrying and wasting time on a missed runout or a dropped catch or a referred LBW, let’s put our energy into what we are doing wrong and the things that we are doing to get ourselves into winning position.
“If you let things drag on and you get caught up in the emotion, it is just wasted energy.
“We are here to play on skill, not emotion. We need to put our thoughts into doing the great things we have been doing.
“We’re doing a lot right, we just need to do it for a little bit longer.”
Australian coach Justin Langer said this week’s tour game at Derby would take on extra importance for plenty of batsmen and bowlers wanting to make their own Ashes impact.