Australia completely destroyed touring New Zealand side in the recently concluded three-match home Test series and completed a clean sweep at SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) by winning the Test match by 279 runs following a 296 and 247-run wins at Perth and MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) respectively.

The Aussie skipper who was really happy with the team’s performance in the series felt that comebacks of opener David Warner and Steve Smith have strengthened their batting.

“Very lucky to be captain of this group. We have a very special group of people. Having Warner and Smith back has strengthened our batting group. The rest of us can learn a lot from them,” he said.

Paine then went on to say that the return of Warner-Smith duo, who was banned for a year after their involvement in a ball-tampering saga, has made them a much more consistent Test side.

“We are blessed with the guys on the park; (Josh) Hazlewood gets injured and (James) Pattinson can come in and fill for him. The depth, our hunger; we haven't struggled in the last couple of years to get 20 wickets but we have struggled to get runs. Their return has made us a much more consistent Test side. I think we can still get better,” the 35-year-old said.

The Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson, on the other hand, felt the lack of big partnerships hurt New Zealand. He also credited Australia for their clinical performance.

“The bowling was good but we struggled to put them under pressure for any considerable period of time. With the bat though, we just weren't able to stitch up the partnerships. Credit to Tim (Paine) and the Australian team. They were clinical in all areas and after the first match, they put us under pressure session after session. In many departments we were outplayed,” Williamson said.

(With IANS inputs)