Australia have a lot to work on in their batting, says captain Tim Paine

Tim Paine’s inexperienced Australian team were blown away by hosts Pakistan in the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi, succumbing to a 373-run defeat. Chasing a mammoth 538 to win the match and the series, the visitors were bundled for a paltry 164 in the second innings, with Mohammad Abbas leading the charge for Pakistan with his 10-wicket haul. The Australian batting card spoke for itself, with the highest individual score of 43 and as many as 6 batsmen dismissed for single figures.

The skipper was critical of his team’s dismal performance in the Test match, which is one of Australia’s heaviest defeats in the longest format. Paine admitted that as a unit, they have a lot to work on, especially since their next opponents are the Indians, currently the no.1 team in Test cricket. Although Australia will be playing in their own backyard, they will probably have to play with a similar XI without the services of the experienced Steve Smith and David Warner.

Speaking after the match, Tim Paine said, “There’s no shying away from the fact we have a hell of a lot to do on our batting and it’s this team and it’s through the whole country. You’ve just got to be able to front up day in, day out. You’d have to ask each person individually or if they were a bit tired whether it be mentally or physically.”

“It’s very hard, there are no easy runs to be scored, there are no easy wickets to be taken. You look back through the great Australian cricket teams, that’s what they were they were better than everyone else (at). They fronted up day in and day out and competed. At the moment our best is right there, but there’s just a huge drop off when we’re not quite on our game,” the wicketkeeper-batsman added.

Abbas was too good for us: Tim Paine

Australia were exposed in both departments, and it wasn’t just their batsmen who collapsed in front of a daunting total. On the first morning, Australia had Pakistan on the ropes at 57 for 5 before the bowlers failed to apply the pressure for the second and third sessions of play. The hosts eventually ended with a respectable 282 on the board.

Paine also dismissed claims that Australia had taken Abbas lightly and spent all their energy on working on methods to tackle Pakistan’s spinners. Abbas took 17 out of the 36 Australian wickets to fall in the series, a feat that earned him the man of the series award.

“Mohammad Abbas is a world-class bowler. We’ve known that, we’ve seen footage of him. He challenged our defence and was too good for us,” the skipper said about Abbas.

After having battled so hard in Dubai to script one of the best rearguards in Test history, Australia and Tim Paine will be extremely disappointed at the fact that they have taken a step backward as the series has progressed. They will look to make amends as they take now on Pakistan in 3 T20Is.

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