Australia coach Justin Langer gave under-fire skipper Tim Paine his full support and blasted criticism of Steve Smith as “absolute rubbish”...
Australia coach Justin Langer gave under-fire skipper Tim Paine his full support and blasted criticism of Steve Smith as “absolute rubbish” on Wednesday after a backlash against the pair’s behaviour in the drawn third Test against India in Sydney.
Paine’s captaincy has been questioned after he launched a verbal tirade at India’s Ashwin Ravichandran and Smith came under fire from some quarters for appearing to scuff up batsman Rishabh Pant’s guard at the crease during a tense final day.
But an indignant Langer was having none of it.
“Do I have faith in Tim Paine? You have no idea how much faith I have in Tim Paine,” he said.
“He didn’t have his best day, no doubt about that, but after three years he has hardly put a hair out of place. He has been outstanding as the Australian captain in everything he does. He had a frustrating day and we have got to cut him some slack, surely.”
Watch: Tim Paine, R Ashwin’s fiery on-field exchange on last day of Sydney Test
With an unscheduled press conference on Tuesday, wicketkeeper Paine, who dropped three catches on the final day, had apologised. The skipper admitted frustration got the better of him when he tried to unsettle Ashwin, who held out...
