"It is a bitter pill to swallow" - Tim Paine on Australia being docked points to miss WTC final

Australian skipper Tim Paine has expressed his disappointment at not being able to contest the inaugural World Test Championship final. The new percentage of points (PCT) system saw Australia being docked four points for a slow over-rate during last year’s Melbourne Test against India.

This meant their PCT was reduced to 69.2 and New Zealand qualified for the WTC final on 70. Tim Paine felt that this was unfair since a lot of teams are penalized or fined for slow over-rates, but in Australia's case points were deducted.

Tim Paine told the Australian media, as quoted by PTI:

"Unfortunately, we were the team I think that's borne the brunt of it for an over rate. I think there's been a lot of Test match cricket in the last two years where teams haven't bowled their overs."

The Tasmanian sought consistency in rules for fairness and uniformity in the WTC cycle. According to Paine, it was harsh on his team to get knocked out because of the deduction of points.

"I'm not sure how many teams lost points out of it but I think there needs to be a little bit more consistency around it, given now that the prize is so big and a couple of overs can cost you four points. It's a bitter pill to swallow when you're the only team that's been docked points," he added.

I thought I was excited for WTC final then got a bit dirty: Tim Paine

Tim Paine said that he did try to watch the WTC final, but the sense of hurt prevented him from tuning in for the full game.

"I watched the last day. I turned it on, excited to watch the first day, well I thought I was excited and then got a bit dirty and didn't want to watch it, so I flicked it off. Obviously, it rained as well for the first day," Tim Paine signed off.