Paine: We can win the next two
Team won’t get too down, says Australia captain Lyon urged to bounce back after nightmare
Australia captain Tim Paine is adamant that the emotion of England’s win at Headingley will not interfere with their plans for the fourth Test.
“If we get caught up in the emotion of it all and get too down on things the series can be taken away from you really quickly,” said Paine.
Chippy, chirpy, and chatting back, he tried to hide the pain that Australia had spurned a golden opportunity to retain the Ashes. “The facts are we’ve been in a position to win every Test we’ve played. We’re doing something right, we have to keep believing in that, keep applying ourselves at training,” he 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.
“We’ll be in a position to win them if we continue to do what we do. Then it comes down to taking your opportunities. Today, we missed a few and a guy played out of his skin to take a Test match away. That can happen, that’s OK.”
With two runs left for England to win, Ben Stokes, that “guy”, unbeaten on 131, turned back Jack Leach who was charging down for a single. Nathan Lyon fumbled a clear run-out opportunity that would have won the match.
“[Lyon] is obviously extremely disappointed, but no one’s perfect, people make mistakes and that happens,” insisted Paine. “The important thing is that when it happens you cop it on the chin, you hold your head up and you stick together as a team and you walk off together.
“We’ve been doing a lot right. Instead of being caught up in the emotion of it we need to be able to deal with it. Talk about where we went wrong, where we can do things better and turn up to Manchester full of confidence.
“Yes, those losses hurt and you are allowed to show that, but I don’t think you can get caught up in it, it’s right in the middle of a series.”
The next ball, Lyon trapped Stokes plumb in front. The appeal was turned down and Australia had no reviews left. It was a cruel couple of deliveries for the off-spinner, who will have to regroup and reset.
“It is just about getting [Lyon] up,” continued Paine. “He’s a really important player in our side and I said to him that if our players see him dealing with it really quickly and moving on, then our younger players are going to do the same. It hurts, deal with it, move on.”
“We don’t talk about emotion, you have got to stick to the facts,” he reiterated. “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.
“I am pretty positive, I honestly think we are playing some really, really good cricket.
“We need to address some areas and we are not going to paper over the cracks and not talk about it.
‘‘We will have some honest conversations about where we think we can get better but we’ve got to keep focusing on the process we have got in place.”