Tim Paine has dismissed suggestions that Edgbaston could have a detrimental effect on his Australia players in the first Ashes Test starting on Thursday by claiming it would not make his top 15 most intimidating grounds.
Striking a slightly prickly figure on the eve of the series – perhaps understandably so after 14 months of fielding questions about his team’s conduct since the ball-tampering scandal last year – the Australia captain looked to play down England’s stronghold.
“England haven’t lost here in how long?” asked Paine, rhetorically, in reference to an 11-match winning run for the home side across all formats. “I don’t even know, I haven’t looked at it and it doesn’t concern us.
“We think our best cricket is good enough and the Edgbaston pitch and Edgbaston crowd and grandstand, or whatever it is, won’t play a part in deciding this Test match.”
Asked if there was a more intimidating ground in world cricket right now, he tersely replied: “Than this? I could name you 15.”
Australia have not won at Edgbaston since the 2001 Ashes Test and Paine has played only two Twenty20 games at the ground. Pakistan, not England, were the opponents back then, with the wicketkeeper yet to experience the boisterous Hollies Stand in Ashes cricket.
But despite his assertion, Paine admitted he has spoken to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – the trio who served suspensions for their part in the Cape Town incident – given that the boos that the first two received during their World Cup semi-final defeat at Edgbaston three weeks ago are likely to increase.
“It’s got the potential to unsettle anyone,” Paine said: “They’re human beings, they’ve got feelings, they’re no different to anyone else. I thought the guys handled themselves superbly throughout the World Cup. We spoke about the fact we think it’s going to go up a notch. When it does you’ve got a plan in place to handle it and that’s what we’ve done.”
Clearly the behaviour of his side will be heavily scrutinised over the next seven weeks but Paine believes they have turned a corner in this respect, with Australia having not received any disciplinary points since that fiery series against South Africa.
Paine revealed a quote – wrongly – attributed to Winston Churchill is being used to form their position on the subject. “We’ve spoken a little bit about this in the last 12 months. Our guys understand what’s expected of them. They are role models not just for Australian people but all around the world. There’s been a quote hanging around the changing room this week from Winston Churchill and that’s that ‘behaviour doesn’t lie’. We can talk all we like about how we’re going to behave. You guys will see how we behave and can judge for yourselves.”
Paine said the misattributed quote was shared by the team’s assistant coach, Brad Haddin, whose aggressive wicket-celebrations during the 2015 World Cup final was in keeping with Australia’s previously hard‑edged approach.
Aside from such talk, Paine was also asked about his own worth to the side, given it is nearly 13 years since his solitary first-class century for Tasmania. Alex Carey, while similarly lacking a back catalogue of runs at first-class level, impressed during the World Cup but missed out on an Ashes berth.
Paine replied: “I’m 34 years old. I don’t really care about my place in the side any more. I’m here to do a job. I’ve been put in this team to captain and keep wicket to the best of my ability. That’s all I can do.
“At 34 years of age if you’re looking further ahead than the next Test match, you’re kidding yourself. I realise how lucky I am, the position I’ve come from and the position I’m now in. I’m enjoying the job I’m doing, loving being in England, being part of an Ashes series, and I’m just looking to enjoy it as much as I can.”
