Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has criticized Tim Paine and his team’s “negative” approach after an under-strength Indian team crushed the hosts at their fortress The Gabba in the final Test and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Tuesday (January 19).
He further said the Australian team seemed scared of defeat instead of pushing aggressively for wins during the four-Test series against an injury-ravaged Indian cricket team.
However, Clarke doesn’t think the captain Paine should be blamed for the embarrassing Test series loss to Team India but said it was the negative mindset that costs the hosts home series.
Paine has so far captained Australia in 23 Tests and has managed to lead them to only 11 wins since taking over from Steve Smith in 2018 after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast: “I thought we might have been a tad negative at certain stages throughout because we were scared to lose versus attack hard and look to win the game.”
He added, “At the end of the day, whether we lost with 20 overs left in the game or on the last ball of the game, it didn’t matter. We had to win that game to win that trophy. I sort of feel we should have approached the first ball of that game to the last ball of that game with a bit more of that attitude.”
The former captain said there was a time when the captain was accountable for the results but now things have changed since there are other professionals who also equally takes calls and accountable.
He further explained, “When I played cricket when I grew up watching my father … the captain was accountable in the teams I played in. Through that transition of me captaining Australia, that changed.
There had become a chairman of selectors that had more pull, there had become a high-performance manager that had more pull, there had become a head coach who had more pull. So now, who is driving the bus? This is my point.”
Meanwhile, former Australian pacer Brett Lee also agreed with Clarke and spoke in Paine’s defense.
Lee told foxsports.com.au: “I think since he’s taken over the captaincy he’s shown real good leadership qualities. And look, there’s been a lot written about Tim Paine behind the stumps. He’s grassed a few chances, but who hasn’t?
You look at all the keepers in history and I’m sure there would be plenty who had leaner periods behind the stumps.”
He continued, “With the bat, you can’t fault him. He goes along with Marnus Labuschagne as having one of the best techniques in the team. He stood up and took on the Indian players.”
The Aussie further defended Paine’s captaincy style by saying “his captaincy has been really good.”
Lee signed off by saying, “As I said, in Sydney, there were maybe a few other things he could have tried, but put yourself in that situation, he’s under the pump, he’s had a few players go down as well, there are chances (gone begging) when they’re trying to take those last five wickets. (He’s a) brilliant keeper, his batting has been outstanding, and his captaincy really sound.”
(With PTI Inputs)
