South Africa and Australia walked into the field with lots to play for. The Baggy green brigade trail the contest by 1-2. The Proteas will be eager to end the high-voltage series on a good note. There was no dearth of competitiveness, but newly-appointed skipper, Tim Paine’s act, is winning hearts.
The Australian skipper arranged his players to shake hands with the South Africans before the start of the Test match. Paine, the 46th Australian skipper, believes it was quite fitting considering cricket is a gentleman’s game.
“I’ve been watching [sports channel] SuperSport this week and they’ve had the soccer on and I notice they do that every game and I thought cricket is the gentleman’s game,” he said.
Good show of sportsmanship
“I spoke to our players about how it was something I wanted to bring in. It’s not something we are going to do every Test match but I think it is not a bad way to start a Test series.” he added.
“I think it’s something that we will use going forward. I just think it’s a good show of sportsmanship and respect.”
There have been a lot of heated arguments and sledging since the start of the series. Verbal volleys never took a backseat, and the ball-tampering scandal only made matters worse.
“I waited for Faf to come out today and spoke to him and he was happy to do that,” Paine said.
“I think he thought it was a good idea and who knows, maybe other sides and South Africa may start to use it as well.
Paine hitting the right note
Paine stressed on the right note, saying the importance of being respectful. He also said that it, something they look to take forward.
“In this series there has been a lot of water under the bridge and a bit of tension between the two sides. We want to be super competitive but we also want to be respectful of our opposition, so it was important we showed that today. It’s something we want to take forward and if other teams want to do it we’ll do it to start every series.”
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