‘You are bowling’- Tim Paine funnily gets cranky at Marnus Labuschagne

Australia have played with aplomb in their home Test series against Pakistan. The visitors haven’t posed much of a threat and the mood in the hosts’ camp is pretty positive. The vibes can be seen even on the field of play. A funny incident unfolded between skipper Tim Paine and Marnus Labuschagne in the third day of the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Labuschagne has been stupendous with the bat in hand, having scored back-to-back centuries. Ever since, he became a regular member of the Australian setup after Steve Smith’s concussion at the Lord’s, there’s been no stopping him. The South Africa-born has also been entrusted to bowl his leg-spinners quite a few times. At the Gabba in Brisbane, he bowled 13 overs.

Even with the pink-ball, Paine has thrown the cherry to Labuschagne with some trust. As far as the funny moment is concerned, it took place before the start of the 64rd over. In his first spell, Labuschagne bowled five overs and didn’t flatter to deceive. He also created a chance to get rid of Yasir Shah, but Smith in the slip couldn’t get his hands underneath.

Tim Paine shouts at Labuschagne

After his spell, Mitchell Starc replaced him in the attack. In the lead up to the 64th over, there was a bit of confusion. Paine first handed the ball to Nathan Lyon, but then changed his mind. The Aussie captain handed the leather over to Labuschagne, who was standing close in. Marnus had put on his pads and other gears for fielding and then he got the shock of his life after being asked to bowl.

He was a tad confused to start with and Paine had to shout to make him aware. Paine said ‘You are bowling’. The players around them had a bit of a laugh. Their conversation was caught on the stump-mic. Even the commentators laughed out on the light-hearted moment on the field.

Here is the video

The over turned out to be bit of a nightmare for Labuschagne. In the first ball, the 100-run stand between Babar Azam and Yasir Shah was raised. In the very next ball, Labuschagne dropped a sitter and gave Shah, who went on to score a century, a lifeline. Then the leg-spinner bowled three dot balls and finished the over off, conceding a single to Shah.