Australia coach defends Paine and Smith

Brisbane, Australia - Australia coach Justin Langer gave under-fire skipper Tim Paine his '100 per cent' support and blasted criticism of Steve Smith as 'absolute rubbish' on Wednesday after a backlash against their behaviour in the drawn third Test against India in Sydney.

Paine's captaincy has been questioned after he launched an ugly verbal tirade at India's Ravi Ashwin and Smith was accused of foul play after appearing to scuff up batsman Rishabh Pant's guard at the crease during a tense final day.

But an indignant Langer was having none of it. "Do I have faith in Tim Paine? You have no idea how much faith I have in Tim Paine," he said on a Zoom call. "He didn't have his best day, no doubt about that, but after three years he has hardly put a hair out of place. He has been outstanding as the Australian captain in everything he does. He had a frustrating day and we have got to cut him some slack, surely."

While backing Paine to continue as captain 'for some time yet', Langer also acknowledged criticism would come if anyone deviated from the high standards the team now set themselves.

"When you set a standard as high as he does, and we do, we understand we get criticised when you fall below that. It's not what we are about," he said. "But Tim is an outstanding leader and will continue to be for some time to come yet. He has my 100 per cent support."

‘A bit quirky’

Footage of Smith suggested he deliberately interfered with Pant's batting guard. The No 4 is renowned for his quirks, including shadow-batting while fielding, and strongly denied doing anything wrong. "As for Steve Smith, I literally cannot believe some of the rubbish I've read - absolute load of rubbish," said Langer.

He took particular aim at England greats Michael Vaughan and Darren Gough, personally phoning them after they criticised Smith. "I've actually spoken to Darren Gough about it and rang him last night," he told sports radio station SEN. "I spoke to Michael Vaughan as well.”

He added that Smith was well known for his offbeat habits. "Anyone who suggests for one millisecond he was trying to do something untoward, they're way out of line," he said.

"On that wicket, that was that flat, and it was like concrete, you'd need 15-inch spikes to make an indent on the crease and he went nowhere near the crease.

"So seriously, I thought that was absolutely ludicrous."