Sandpaper Gate | Stand-in Australia captain Tim Paine laments bizzare ‘horrible 24 hours’

The fourth day of the third Test was bound to be an extremely difficult challenge for the Australians after skipper Steve Smith brought in tons of criticisms and speculations upon the team by confessing to their voluntary involvement in the ball tampering scandal.

Their struggle to focus on the game was clearly showing and before they could realize, they collapsed for 107 runs handing the hosts a mammoth 322-run win. It is the biggest win for South Africa over Australia since the side was readmitted into international cricket in 1991. 

Skipper Smith and vice-captain David Warner were already asked to step down from their positions before the start of the day with the sword of ICC’s decision hanging above the heads, and Paine expressed the extreme tension they were in while batting.

"It's been a bizarre, strange and horrible 24 hours. "It was extremely difficult, though that is certainly no excuse for what you saw in the last 45 minutes. We are still the Australian cricket team, we are expected to put up a better effort than what we did today, but it was in some trying circumstances," said Pain after the defeat, reported Reuters.

The wicket-keeper batsman also admitted that they hadn’t foreseen how big could things blow out of proportion for altering the state of the ball, especially with the current state back in Australia. 

“They are struggling, probably the reality and enormity of what has happened is starting to sink in. I don't think all (the players) would have expected this to be as big as it has been, especially the fallout that we have seen from back home," he added.

With Smith banned for a Test by ICC and Cameron Bancroft, quite understandably, not in the right state of mind, Australia are expected to field a much-changed side for the fourth and final Test that would decide the outcome of the series. Paine, however, tried to look at the positive side stating that this could be a good chance for other players to stand up to the occasion and restore Australian cricket's faith.

"The one positive that will come is that some guys will get an opportunity to play for their country. The whole opportunity for us going forward is something that we can learn from and something we can try and control, how we are seen by the Australian public and become the team we want to become and they want us to be seen as," Paine said.