VIDEO | Tim Paine warned by on-field umpire for using “negative tactics” to keep Pant off strike
In his first series as captain on home soil, Tim Paine led from the front and pretty much like a statesman, he has made sure that the game happens in good spirit. However, the Aussie skipper applied negative tactics to keep Rishabh Pant at the non-striker’s end and was called by the umpire.
Although the G produced one of the flattest decks on the first two days of the Test, the wicket started showing the signs of deterioration from Day 3 onwards and was a delight for the bowlers. Australia had a great time on the field on the third day as well and after Pat Cummins picked up four wickets in the last session yesterday. Today, Tim Paine asked Cummins to bowl the last delivery of the 35th over of India’s second innings down the leg-side so as to keep Ravindra Jadeja on strike when the next over starts.
While bowling down the leg-side is not a grave crime in multi-day format, as the wide rule is very flexible, Australia used it as a means to take the benefit. Umpire Marais Erasmus was observing that all this while and issued a wide for that, as Tim Paine appeared to line up down the leg side to collect the ball. However, Paine seemed confused that why it was called as a wide and Erasmus immediately explained the situation to him.
“If he had bowled a ball down leg and then you had then dived, I would not have deemed it to be deliberate,” Erasmus told Paine.
Erasmus was well within the right to do that as ICC’s Test Match Playing Conditions law 2.2.1.4 as it states, “For bowlers whom umpires consider to be bowling down the leg side as a negative tactic, the strict limited over Wide interpretation shall be applied.”
Adam Gilchrist explained the tactics in the commentary by saying, “Tim Paine had set himself up down the leg-side because I think they wanted to keep Rishabh Pant pinged at what would have been the non-striker's end. Marais Erasmus was having none of that.”
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