“I didn't pay a whole heap of attention to it” – Why Tim Paine is not reading much into England’s loss
Tim Paine is not bothered by England’s series loss to New Zealand. The Australian Test skipper feels England will put out a completely different side when the two sides square off during the Ashes later this year, admitting he didn’t pay much attention to the recent series.
New Zealand scripted history on Sunday as they won a Test series in England for the first time since 1999, beating England by eight wickets to clinch the series 1-0. The Blackcaps thoroughly outclassed the hosts in the series, with questions asked of England as they build up to the India series and the Ashes.
Speaking to reporters from Brisbane, Tim Paine praised New Zealand but admitted he isn’t looking too far into England’s defeat.
"New Zealand are a good team, and secondly I think it's a really different team England put on the field to what we're probably going to see in the Ashes so I didn't pay a whole heap of attention to it. We know when they come here they're going to get Ben Stokes, going to have Jofra Archer, they're probably going to play a spinner, and a few other guys to really strengthen their depth,” Tim Paine claimed.
England fielded one of their most inexperienced Test sides against New Zealand, which had several big players missing from their playing eleven. Many English players like Sam Curran and Jos Buttler were excluded from the series to give them some time away from bio-bubbles, while players like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer weren’t present as they recovered from injury.
With players like Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach not in the line-up against the Kiwis either, England will likely field a very different line-up against India and Australia in the coming months.
"JL's done a bloody good job” – Tim Paine backs Justin Langer
The 36-year-old also came out in support of Justin Langer. The Australian coach has come under fire in recent months. With speculation rife about his coaching style, multiple media reports suggested Justin Langer had been asked to change his approach during his end-of-season review.
But Tim Paine feels the issues have been taken out of context, suggesting the end-of-season review was something the whole team was subjected to. Tim Paine also praised Justin Langer for shepherding the Australian side during one of its most difficult phases in international cricket.
"We had a team review at the end of the Indian series which is pretty common practice in professional sports. From Justin to our last player, everyone got feedback. We'll be going to the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks time to delve a little bit deeper into that. The whole idea of it being a review around Justin, or a review around players and staff is just common practice. JL's done a bloody good job in a really difficult time. We all feel now as a team we want to evolve and improve and JL's a part of that. It's not him by himself it's all of the coaching staff and all our players,” Tim Paine concluded.
Justin Langer is in the final year of his contract as coach and all eyes will be on him as Australia resume international cricket in the coming weeks.