Steve Smith praises selectors after regaining the Ashes

The Australian selectors were criticized ahead of the Ashes series as they had included wicket keeper Tim Paine, who last represented the nation in 2010. The wise men had to defend themselves for naming veteran batsman Shaun Marsh in the squad while axing Matt Renshaw and replacing him with a newcomer Cameron Bancroft, raised a few eyebrows.

A few weeks since then, now, Steve Smith’s men sit comfortably with a 3-0 lead having regained the urn. They have put in a dominant show by sealing a victory at the WACA by an innings and 41 runs. The inclusion of Mitch Marsh, who scored a career-best 181, was under the spotlight and the skipper has praised the selectors. Paine scored a couple of fifties, Shaun cracked a solid ton and his brother Mitch has followed the trend.

Skipper lauds Paine, Marsh

Smith praised Paine and said that his contribution down the order has been of great value.“I thought they were really good selections. Painey has been mentioned as the best keeper in the country for a long period of time and the way he has kept has been exceptional. The way he has batted has been exceptional as well, we have had some very valuable runs from him at seven. Shaun Marsh as well, he’s come in and done a terrific job,” Smith said.

The skipper credited the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc for putting up a great show.“We’ve worked really hard to ensure we had these three big quicks were on the park and ready for this series. A couple of them skipped the one-day series in India as we knew what was coming up, we were preparing for this series and we wanted the big three on the park to do what they’ve done the last three Test matches,” Smith concluded.