Tim Paine must go

That is the worst, disrespectful piece of garbage I have read. Obviously leadership and captaincy’s avoided your playing days. As well as respect, tactics and leadership/coaches meetings with game plans. Australia maximised the best bowling conditions under lights, with a world class attack due to a declaration. They dodged weather and probably played tactically the best a side could over the test. Try bowling 145km for 90 overs and front up again the next day and bowl the same. Mentally and physically it’s a grind, batting for 300+ runs requires concentration, dedication, drive and motivation as well as skill. David Put on a Master Class batting display of test batting, coming of an horrific 2 yrs mentally, and all you can do is call for our Australian captain’s head and want David to put his innings at risk by turning it into a 20/20 slog match for quick runs to 400. Pakistan would put every one on the fence, and the last 80 runs would of been single and miss hits till he got out, just to satisfy the narrow minded views is some. Don’t forget the recovery David and his family would have to go through to recovery his already outstanding achievement. Don’t disrespect Pakistan with there achievements either, they are lead by world class legends, have some world class batsmen and bowlers. Just changed coaches with a new approach, haven’t played in front of their home crowd in decades, and unleashed 2 teenagers on one of the hardest tours in world cricket. One on the eve of his recent passing of his mother, not the best mind set to play any sport, and wanted them to be beat by an innings and 250 runs. So you can see history ! Then you will call them a really poor team ! Where is the sportsmanship any more ? We don’t need more Mental health issues, collapses, breakdowns, retirements and greats driven from the game by pressures of journalistic rubbish. Write something positive so a 16 yr old kid wants to come back to our country where his career started not finished

:laughing: you are a comedian...your article was the funniest joke I’ve read for a long time...keep up you nonsensical prose as it is so funny!

Gee Ben. You ever played cricket? It’s a team game not a individual game. Not so long back Warner was sitting on the sidelines for a non cricket incident. Yes it was a great knock but the team and win come first. Wow I got a record in a non result game.

I was flabbergasted when Paine declared. Dean Jones saying this is the Australian way, we play to win is absolutely garbage. You have already won a meaningless 2 test series against an opponent who have played minimal test cricket in the last 12 months,no one is going to remember Pakistan toured Australia in 2019, so Warner scoring a world record innings would’ve made this summer more memorable.Paine has virtually robbed Warner of sponsorship dollars from say the 401 bat, he could’ve opened the 401 nightclub or whatever. He wasn’t going at a slow pace, he would’ve had it by tea. All the cricketers who say they don’t keep score or don’t know their statistics are lying. Everyone plays for their country, but they play for themselves as well. Paine should’ve won the series in England, but he opted to bowl when he won the toss in the last test. You always bat first. And the renewed love affair the Australian public are having with Warner and Smith Is cringeworthy and just shows the lack of talent there is in Australia at the moment. What they did was reeked of hubris and a total disregard and respect for the game. They should have been made to start all over again. Like in boxing you big yourself by finding totally useless opponents and here you have Pakistan making Australia look like a truly formidable nation again and the kiwis will get a 3-0 thumping and all will be well again. The next captain should be Marnus and bring in Alex Carey ASAP as the wicketkeeper. Cricket is entertaining when it is between two evenly matched teams. The highlight reel shouldn’t be about what the Australian captain said on the stump mic, if the guy batting can babysit his kid or what movie they’re going to watch tonight. I think sanity has to prevail and the people in charge have to be learned not just in the aspects of the game but but also the commercial aspect of it, the branding of it and how the sport compares to other sports.

Cricket is a team sport. Decisions are made for the team, not the individual. Tim Paine made the right call for the team which is what his job is. If we’re playing for the individual perhaps tennis or golf are a better option.

Glad to see this guys resume says comedian and journalist, because this article is a joke, the idea in sports is to win games. Everything else is, well there is nothing else. So that the fact that D Warner missed an opportunity to break a record, is nothing, we won, game over. I guess Mr Probjie was bereft of ideas yesterday, til he came up with this gem. Ben keep trying, the article wasn’t funny, wasn’t analytical, at best mundane but more likely parochial. We expect better.

I have to disagree that there was a decent chance he may not have got there. I could not see the tired bowlers turning things around against a class batter with his eye in. Paine was being kind to Pakistan whose bowling attack was not the best. Paine was doing it for the good of the game.

It’s a team game, rain predicted, its about winning tests, not individuals. And what guarantee was there he would score another run? Play tennis then you call it

Was at the game and Warner appeared visibly exhausted and just as keen to declare when he came off. But would of been great to see the Lara record broken however I think the most significant record broken in my opinion and clearly going on how vocal the crowd was, was the first 300 at Adelaide oval whilst breaking Bradmans prior record....and I’m not even from South Australia!

I think if there wasn’t the threat of rain taking time out he would have let him go for it. They need the points for the test championship

Oh get over it he did the right thing for his team you obviously wasn't a team player either in your day that's why you ate Pizza leave the guy alone he's doing a good job as captain.

"Oh sure, some will say, Australia won the game, so wasn’t Paine’s action justified? To them I would say, is a general justified in shooting his own men if it wins him the battle? And how would that even work?" The captain didn't shoot his own men, so a very bad analogy. Indeed, he stopped his men murdering too many of the enemy! "In any case, Australia won the game on the fourth day – it’s not like they were pressed for time. Would an hour or two extra batting really have made a difference to the result? Just how inept did Paine assume his bowlers were?" This is the comment of a person who has either, not watched a lot of test cricket, or is ignoring what sort of things happen Test cricket. Indeed, this author is showing the selfishness of the atypical Australian cricket follower. Those who play the game, play to win the game. They succeeded!! Indeed, I would of loved to have seen any Australian cricketer create a great innings, and look one did! Dave Warner got 335! You would think, by the authors views, that he declared when Warner was 49, or 99, or even 199. Warner accomplished the 2nd greatest Test innings by an Australian. That is amazing!!! Shame on you Ben Pobjie.

I have never thought you were subtle Been but not surprising, I suppose, you have proved to be far too subtle for some here. As usual I enjoyed your efforts.

We were told that the factor in the declaration or one of the factors was that there was rain forecast. That being the case the declaration should have come an hour or two earlier in a bid to shorten the game and beat the rain. But having decided to bat on he should have added another 70 or so runs as insurance having to bat twice which no captain likes after enforcing the follow-on. Had Pakistan shown a little bit more resolve another visit to the crease would have been a distinct possibility declaring when he did. That would have been a very tricky situation.

hilarious, Ben. Don't go changing.

Don’t know about that starc is electric at night at adelaide DN and lyon second innings excellent theyve done it three DN tests in a row there the pair of them. Against england and kiwis there, it was similar weather and also shorter mate 3.5 to 4 days from memory , over earlier and it was damp cold and wet. I should know I sat through them both. Yes pakistan was inferior opposition its why I was confident on less than 4 days there with our bowling all over it there. Anyway I felt really really confident from the onset even when we were clocking runs and it rained a little . I will say im not so confident about mcg and scg tests against NZ , depends on the bowling line up but Ive been noting lyon and starc have mediocre to poor averages there (even though they have taken wickets there theyve both had bad matches there at times) . I fear we could do a bit better with smart rotation there. I guess cummins and hazel wood may go even better there the way they are going though. I know others will not agree with me but im not afraid to bowl pitch specific talents (neser at brisbane, pattinson at mcg who has a great average there) . Not saying I want big changes to the side though and its more of a smart rotation policy in my head for specific grounds (no more than one player really) although Swepson interests me for his leg spin greatly and if lyons average is poor at mcg/scg Id be considering him for a game not that I think it will happen but that was a magnificent 7 wicket haul there recently by him

How much cricket have you played cricket is a team game not for individual records if the come along well and good but team first The reason he declared when he did was so they could use the night conditions to brack the spirit which it did and Australia went on to when the test which is the aim of the game How many captains have declared when players are within reach of a ton or some other milestone Sorry it is just cricket

There were definitely footmarks in Brisbane though. But the Adelaide pitch didn't seem to have a mark on it. I also think the 4-day result says a lot more about Pakistan than the conditions. Against a remotely decent test batting lineup it's hard to see that not being a draw. Even with a new ball under lights it wasn't really swinging much with this ball. There was little for the bowlers at all once the ball got past the first few overs with the new ball. There was the odd ball that swung with the brand new ball.

I mean, he's also not not suggesting it.

No worries. I was just having a bit of a joke with your suggestion that he wasn't in SA at the time - he was actually Australia's 'keeper for that series (he had taken the gloves for the Ashes in 2017).