Tim Paine: "I’ve got a new respect for umpiring in Test cricket"

NICK FRIEND AT THE OVAL: Twice on the third day of the final Test Australia declined the opportunity to call for the third umpire, when both episodes would have seen batsmen dismissed

Tim Paine admitted he had gained new-found appreciation for the job done by umpires after his torrid time with the Decision Review System continued at the Oval on Saturday.

Australia’s struggles with the technology came to a head at Headingley after a botched appeal against Jack Leach meant that Ben Stokes was reprieved with just two runs to win at Leeds. He had been struck on the pad by Nathan Lyon, only for Joel Wilson to fail to give the batsman out, much to Paine’s dismay.

After that Test, which England won by a single wicket, the Australian skipper vowed to improve his use of the system.

However, twice on the third day of the final Test Australia declined the opportunity to call for the third umpire, when both episodes would have seen batsmen dismissed.

First, Joe Denly was hit on the back pad by Mitchell Marsh, before Jos Buttler was struck as he  played back to a ball from Lyon.

“I’m getting it wrong,” Paine confessed after play, tongue-in-cheek suggesting that he would enroll on an umpiring course upon his return to Australia in an attempt to correct the problem.

“I don’t know what else to say. We are having a mare. We’ve got it wrong. We’re not deliberately getting together and saying: ‘Do you know what, I reckon that’s out Gaz. Do you want to refer it? Nah, let’s let him keep batting.’ We are getting it wrong.

“It happens. It’s fast, it’s a tough job as I’ve said throughout the whole Test series. I’ve got a new respect for umpiring in Test cricket because it’s a bloody hard job. For years, players have whinged about umpiring and now we’ve got it in our own hands a little bit and we’re finding that it’s hard.”

He has received added criticism for his DRS failure, given his position on the field. The theory among many is that Paine’s view from behind the stumps is unrivaled. Yet, he suggested that much depends on the position of the batsmen, who often leave him partially unsighted.

“Some I am and some I aren’t [in the best position],” he explained. “I found the one with Denly, I can’t quite see where that hits him when I’m in behind him, so I’m not sure if that hits his front leg or his back leg.

“Then, the one with Lyon, I thought it was pretty close. Again, I go off with where my gloves are going, and I was going a little bit legside with it. Lyon thought it was a bit high, so two wrongs maybe they make a right!”

Paine also added a defiant response when asked about the behaviour of his side as England’s lead grew on a sunbaked afternoon. Marais Erasmus appeared to step in at one stage, while Joe Root and Matthew Wade were seen in conversation at one stage.

Paine, however, quashed any controversy, playing down both incidents.

“I think we have been fantastic,” he said of the image portrayed by his side since the ball-tampering scandal that saw an overhaul in the culture of Cricket Australia. “Both sides have played this in good spirits, it’s competitive Test cricket.

“People are going to talk to each other. I don’t know why it’s such an issue. It’s fine. They’re grown men having a conversation. Nobody is swearing. No one is abusing anyone. It’s Test match cricket. I don’t understand why so much is made of something so little. Particularly given the standard of cricket that’s being played.”

^{Steve Smith took a superb catch to dismiss Chris Woakes}

Central to the level of cricket throughout the series has been the form of Steve Smith. He followed his innings-carrying 80 on Friday with a quieter day in the field, but still found time to pull of an astounding catch at second slip.

After Chris Woakes threw his hands at a wide, swinging delivery from Marsh, Smith plucked the ball out of the air in one hand as Australia fought back late in the day by claiming Woakes and, with the very next ball, the crucial scalp of Buttler.

“He’s just a freak,” Paine joked of Smith. “We were chatting out there at one point about how batsmen like him seem to always be in the game. Cricketers like him – I think Stokes is the same.

“They’re just in the contest and in the game all the time, whether they’re at slip or at point or with the ball or with the bat. I think that’s what makes great cricketers great cricketers. They’re always in the contest, they’re always aware of what’s happening. It was a pretty special catch late in the day after he’s been batting for seven weeks straight.”

Smith, of course, will be a vital part of any successful run-chase for the tourists – whenever that may begin. Already 382 runs behind, Australia will want to clean up England’s often obdurate tail, with Jack Leach and Jofra Archer resuming on Sunday morning, with Stuart Broad still to come.

“Batting is going to be all about the skill and our ability to bat for a long time,” Paine added. “Luckily, if we can get two early wickets tomorrow, we have got a hell of a long time to chase them down, which is great.

“We desperately want to win this Test match and finish this series as outright winners. But at the same time, we’re proud of what we’ve done and that we’re taking the urn home. That was the primary goal of why we came here, so to tick that off has been fantastic and I’m really proud of the way our group, our bowlers, our fielding late today. They just continued to come.

“That’s the sign of a pretty good side, I reckon. It’s easy in those conditions and when the game is in the position that it was in, a lot of teams would throw in the towel.”