Ashes: Tim Paine says Australia did not panic at Headingley but admits he made mistakes
Tim Paine has refuted Jofra Archer’s claim that Australia panicked as Ben Stokes led England to victory in Headingley – but admits he made”errors” because the tourists spurned the chance to keep the Ashes.
Australia had England nine wickets down with 73 runs needed from the next Test in Leeds but a mixture of Stokes’ brilliant 135 not out, a dropped catch, a collapsed run out and wasted reviews viewed the hosts pull off a remarkable win and keep the series alive.
Asked whether Australia had choked, skipper Paine, talking ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, said:”No. I’ve addressed it before. Jofra is entitled to his view – he has had lots.
“We made some errors, it occurs – we’ve addressed it as a staff and talked about it honestly. I was one of those men and women who made errors, I’d have done some things with my area placings.
“There were also times, looking back , at which it was evident I should have had the field up and enabled Ben to strike a couple of bounds so we had more balls at the tailender (Jack Leach).
“That is the main thing I’d have done differently. It occurs in cricket and we have moved on, learnt from it, and we are prepared for yet another terrific Test match.”
Australia may hand quick Mitchell Starc his very first look of the series when he picked up seven wickets in the innings thrashing of Derbyshire last week.
Starc is at a squad and appears to be obsessed with Peter Siddle for the final place alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Usman Khawaja has been axed, however, after averaging 20.33 in the No 3 berth in the show up to now, with a high score of 40.
On Starc’s chances of playing in Manchester, Paine explained:”They are good. He is therefore he is close. We will have another look in the wicket – it appears dry and hopefully it has got a bit of pace in it.
“Starcy bowled superbly last week at Derby. He’s been working on getting his length right really hard and we were really impressed.
“We know what he could do to tail-end batters if he cranks it up. The boys have been calling ‘the mop’ for a couple of decades.
“He is a great alternative for us. We believe this wicket could suit him and, should we make that call, we are convinced he will do a wonderful job.”
On Khawaja being the guy with Steve Smith fit to return after a concussion to miss out, Paine added. “Usman is an integral player but he hasn’t scored the runs he or we’d like.
“With Smith coming back it was a difficult decision to make on Usman.
“We still think he’s got a great deal of cricket left in him. He’s had a very good Test recording on his career and we hope he will bounce back very strongly.”
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