Ashes 2019: The not-so-exotic relationship between Tim Paine and the DRS

At the Headingley in Leeds, Ben Stokes helped England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Australia can consider themselves unlucky as Stokes was visibly out to a delivery from Nathan Lyon. The southpaw went for a sweep, and he was trapped plumb in front, but the umpire Joel Wilson didn’t raise his finger. The visitors also didn’t have the Decision Review System (DRS) up their sleeves.

But, in an over prior to that, Tim Paine and Co had that one review, but the skipper unsuccessfully used it up for Jack Leach. The surprising element of the move was that the ball had pitched a country mile outside the leg stump. The decision came back to haunt the Aussies as optimum utilization of the DRS would not only have given them a 2-0 lead but also helped them retain the Ashes.

Tim Paine’s DRS woes

Tim Paine has had to face a lot of brickbats ever since the decision. The numbers also don’t speak for the Tasmanian. Since his first full Test as the skipper against South Africa, Australia has the worst DRS record among the nine main Test teams. As per Andrew Samson, BBC’s Test Match Special statistician, the Aussies have gotten 78.69 per cent (48 out of 61) of their DRS decisions incorrect.

England are second on 66.06 per cent (72 incorrect out of 109). However, it’s the difference between Paine and Joe Root, the Three Lions Test skipper, that is most startling. Out of the 20 Test captains with more than 30 reviews since the system was introduced back in 2009, Paine ranks 19th with 87.10 wrong per cent (27/31). On the contrary, Root is on top with 69.39 per cent (68/98).

In the ongoing series, Paine has blown all nine of his challenges even as Root has missed nine out of 15. Recently, Justin Langer, the head coach of the Australian cricket team, said that the team has used the DRS badly and the final review was used due to desperate circumstances.

England winning the third Test meant that the Ashes is wide open now. The fourth Test is scheduled to get underway on September 4 at the Old Trafford in Manchester and both teams have all to play for. Paine will also be looking to improve on his DRS use after what happened in Leeds.

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