Tim Paine, Australian Test skipper on Wednesday said that the ‘Umpire’s Call’ is not ideal when a captain decides to take a review to challenge the on-field call, but in the end, Australians are okay with the rule and every team needs to accept it.
Tim Paine’s remark comes as Australia gets ready to play the 3rd Test against India in the four-match series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), set to commence from January 7.
Tim Paine: Okay With Not Ideal Umpire’s Call
In the second Test between India and Australia, both skippers Tim Paine and Ajinkya Rahane reviewed quite a few on-field calls, and most of the decisions were unchanged as the final verdict boiled down to ‘Umpire’s Call’.
“It does not bother me to be honest, there is so much talk about it whether we like it or we don’t. It’s irrelevant, it’s there and while it’s there, teams are going to use it like they are which is probably not the way it was brought in to be used, it was brought in to challenge like a really bad howler. But the current setup, when you have three reviews and you have umpire’s call, you would be mad not to challenge it because you never know. It is not ideal, but it is what it is, and we are okay with it,” said Tim Paine.
During the second Test between India and Australia, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had said that the Decision Review System needs to be thoroughly looked into by the ICC.
The legendary batsman was talking about the ‘Umpires Call’ and he said it is still unclear of the decision as to why sometimes a batsman is given out and sometimes he survives. The same statement has also been echoed by former Australian spinner Shane Warne as he has suggested many times that ICC should do away with ‘Umpires Call’.
Tim Paine Feels Lot Of Cricket Left In Him Despite Being 36
Tim Paine who debuted in 2009 in limited-overs and 2010 in Tests has played 33 Tests but is yet to score a ton. He has captained Australia in 21 Tests and they have won 11 of them losing 7. Tim Paine was appointed skipper after then skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were stripped of their captaincy roles following the ball-tampering controversy, which saw them banned for 1 year.
Talking about being the captain of Australia, Paine said: “I have grown into the role, obviously when I got the captaincy, I was not expecting it or planning for it.I haven’t looked too far yet, I have not looked past this series. I look at each series as it is and then I reassess it. At 36, I wouldn’t say I am here for a long haul but I feel I still have a bit of cricket left in me. My dream was to play cricket for Australia, being the captain is a huge honour and privilege.”
When asked about the tactic of bowling short balls at the opposition camp and how much benefit it gives the side, Paine replied: “I think, obviously playing Test cricket is difficult and playing short ball at good pace has its challenge. It’s how teams test what you are made of, short ball is a great option, it’s a tactic that we have used and we expect to get plenty back as well.”
“It is a tactic which we have used especially when the lower-order comes in, lower-order batters are getting better and better so the fast bowlers love bowling short balls, it is a tactic which is the minds of the batters when they come to Australia, they know it’s coming, we know it’s coming and it’s going to come back,” added Tim Paine.
Both the Indian and Australian line-ups moved to Sydney on Monday 4th January after every member of their respective contingent tested negative for COVID-19. The third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Test Series between India and Australia will commence from January 7, 2020.
India had levelled the four-match series against Australia after securing an eight-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after suffering a humiliating defeat in Adelaide where the team registered lowest ever Test score of 36.