Australian skipper Tim Paine has found himself under the scanner of the cricket fraternity because of his behavior behind the stumps. The skipper was constantly sledging and was even heard using foul language against R Ashwin on day 5 of the third test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Paine was also fined 15% of his match fee for showing dissent towards umpire Paul Wilson. Later, after receiving a lot of backlashes, Paine publicly apologized for his behavior.
However, recently, during an interview, Paine stated that he will be ready to engage in banter if required in the upcoming fourth and the last Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba.
While speaking at a pre-match video conference, Tim Paine agreed that he needs to be more careful and needs to show more respect towards the opposite players and officials. But he also said that he will be up to engage in banter as it is an important part of the game. He said:
“I will be being myself. I don’t remember how many Tests I have played but I have gone about it in a pretty consistent fashion 99 percent of the time. The other day, I let the moment get to me, which is a very rare thing. Bit of a blip on the radar. But as I said I have copped that on the chin. I will look to come out this week and play competitive Test cricket as I always do,”
He added:
“If there is a bit of banter to be said then yes I am always up for that. I have just got to be aware of the stump mic, be more respectful of the umpire, the officials and the players I am against. I like engaging in that, it is good fun and I think it is a part of the game,”
Meanwhile, Australian women’s cricketer and wife of pacer Mitchell Starc has been facing heat by the Indian cricket fans after she took an indirect dig at team India for having problems with the hotel they are staying in.
Following India’s complaint about the restrictions imposed on them, Alyssa Healy took to her social media and claimed that the Australian and New Zealand’s women’s teams were also quarantined in the same hotel last year and they survived.
?? – the Aus and NZ women’s teams did their quarantine in the same hotel last year. Here’s a shock – we survived…. https://t.co/9YUTvZ8RqR
— Alyssa Healy (@ahealy77) January 13, 2021
(Read the full report here: Fans Are Slamming Australian Cricketer Alyssa Healy After She Took A Jibe At Team India)
When Tim Paine was asked about the comments made by the Australian women’s cricketer, Tim revealed that he had not heard any of the Indian players complaining about the facilities. He also admitted that the situations are tougher for team India as they are in a different country away from their home. He said:
“Well, firstly I haven’t seen those comments from Alyssa and to be fair, I haven’t heard any complaints from the Indian players. We are all aware of what we signed up for and I think it’s been challenging for everyone, probably more for them because they are in a different country and away from their families. So, I certainly understand the difficulties that the Indians are going through,”
Meanwhile, both the teams will be locking their horns in the last test match at Gabba, which will kickstart from 15th January.
