After suffering a 137-run defeat in the third Test at MCG, Australian skipper Tim Paine rued the absence of banned cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft from the side.
Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Paine said: “It is inexperience. It is pressure. India’s bowling attack being probably as good as probably most of these guys have ever faced. It is pretty clear, if you take 2 or 3 of the best players out of anyone’s lineup in the world, you’re going to struggle a little bit at times and have inconsistent performances. That’s what we are seeing.”
The 33-year-old further said that the Indian side would struggle too if they were without Virat Kohli or Cheteshwar Pujara. “If you took Pujara and Virat out of India’s side I think you would have the same conversation. If you have got world-class players that are not in your team, are they going to add to our team?” he said.
He further added: “So while at the moment it’s challenging and everyone’s frustrated, it is what it is and everyone is working hard and we’re getting guys who are getting the experience of high-pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job. At times you’re going to get inconsistency from guys that are in that situation. The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do it will make a huge difference.”
Paine further praised India’s bowling attack and said that Australia’s top six struggled against the opposition. “In Perth, on a really tough wicket, our top six dug in and had a real crack. In this game, no doubt we were a little bit disappointing. That’s going to happen from time to time. We have to make sure we’re improving and our good and our bad is a little bit closer together than what it has been in the last couple of Tests. But I think it’s pretty common when you’ve got inexperienced players in your top six against high-quality bowling,” he said.
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