ENG vs AUS 2018: Australia captain Tim Paine assures improved and competitive attitude in England

Australia are set to play 5 One Day Internationals and one T20I in England next month.

Tim Paine ready for the England challenge next month | Getty Images

New Australian captain Tim Paine has assured on Monday (28 May) an improved behavior in their upcoming limited overs England series, starting from 13 June at Kennington Oval, London.

There will be high chances of hostile reaction awaits in England for Australia following the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa that rocked the Australian cricket. But Paine is confident that his boys are well aware of the importance of improving team culture and conduct to take a step forward to meet the expectations of the Australian public and head coach Justin Langer, and they will not disappoint them this time.

As per reports in Reuters, Paine told media in Brisbane, “Justin sat us down for a team meeting last week and spoke about the Australian cricket team’s values, and what he expects. It’s nothing that’s brand new, nothing the guys haven’t heard before – it’s purely about acting on what we know is the right thing to do and the right way to play our cricket.”

The 33-year-old further added, “That’s been a huge focus for us, has been around our actions, our behaviors and making sure we live up to the standards that the Australian cricket team should. We’ve had Spirit of Cricket documents, we’ve had Code of Conduct documents, but at the end of the day they mean nothing if you don’t act on them and you don’t live by them.”

Meanwhile, England is favorite against Steve Smith and David Warner less Australian side, especially without injured fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, but the wicket-keeper batsman is keen to show their talent before the upcoming mega ICC event –World Cup 2019.

Paine signed off by saying, “We’re not going over there to make up the numbers or be the nicest Australian cricket team ever to play against. We’re going to be really competitive, at the same time we’re going to be really respectful, but we’re going there to win.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 28 May, 2018

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