SM
Arsenal vs. Juventus: 5 hrs 9 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Australia captain Tim Paine defends Steve Smith over scuffing incident

:Headline: Australia captain Tim Paine defends Steve Smith over scuffing incident: ID:430232: from db_amp
Steve Smith was accused of deliberately scuffing away the guard of India batsman Rishabh Pant during the third Test in Sydney.

Australia captain Tim Paine leapt to the defence of Steve Smith, who was accused of deliberately scuffing away the guard of India batsman Rishabh Pant on a climactic final day of the third Test between the teams.

Smith was filmed on a stump camera shadow batting then seemingly swiping away at pitch marks made by Pant, whose 97 from 118 balls gave India a chance of an unlikely victory in Sydney before they settled for a memorable draw.

The teams head into the final Test, which gets under way at Brisbane later this week, with the series at 1-1 but there is scrutiny on Smith following his conduct at the SCG.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag and England's Ashes 2005-winning captain Michael Vaughan were among those to criticise the actions of Smith, who was sacked as Australia captain for his role in the ball-tampering scandal two years ago.

But Paine, his successor as skipper of the national side, said: "I have spoken to Steve about this, and I know he's really disappointed with the way it's come across.

"He was certainly not changing guard, and I'd imagine if he was then the Indian players would have kicked up a bit of a stink at the time.

“I said to our players 'I've had a really poor game as a leader'. I let our group down. I'm human, I want to apologise for the mistakes that I made.”
- Tim Paine

"When he's in the field, he likes to walk up to where he bats and visualise how he's going to play. That's something I have seen Steve do many times."

Paine's behaviour as the Test built to a thrilling conclusion was also questioned after a heated verbal exchange with India's Ravichandran Ashwin, who was called a "d*******" by the increasingly-agitated wicketkeeper.

Paine, who was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent to an umpire earlier in the Test, dropped three catches behind the stumps on day five.

He has been widely credited with improving Australia's reputation following the ball-tampering saga in Cape Town in 2018 but told reporters in an unscheduled press conference he was unhappy with how he behaved at the SCG.

He said: "I'm someone who prides themselves on the way I lead this team and that was a poor reflection.

"My leadership wasn't good enough, I let the pressure of the game get to me. It affected my mood and then from there affected my performance.

"I said to our players 'I've had a really poor game as a leader'. I let our group down. I'm human, I want to apologise for the mistakes that I made."

amp_article__430232 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2021-01-12 12:54:01:
html db last update - 2021-01-12 12:54:01 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Steve Smith

Click here for more stories about Australia

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .