Tim Paine pleads Australian masses to give second chance to Steven Smith and David Warner
Interim Australian captain Tim Paine is hopeful that the Australian crowd will offer banned duo of Steven Smith and David Warner the support and a second chance as they end their 12-month suspension following the sandpaper gate. Their suspensions are due to expire towards the end of March 2019.
Australia are currently trailing India 2-1 in the ongoing Test series as they head into the series finale, which will be played on January 3. The hosts will look to give their all in order to prevent the Indians from registering their first ever series win on Australian soil. And their biggest challenge for the home team in doing that is the absence of banned Australian trio- Smith, Warner, and Cameron Bancroft.
Tim Paine, the current Australian captain, admitted that the Aussies have missed the star pair during their loss in the third Test against India at the MCG as the hosts' batting order collapsed for 151 runs and 261 runs in first and second innings respectively.
“I think it’s pretty clear that if you take two or three of the best players out of anyone’s line-up around the world, you’re going to struggle a little bit at times and you are going to have inconsistent performances.
“The silver lining is that we do have world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side, and clearly when they do they will make a huge difference,” Paine told AFP sources.
Paine, who was appointed skipper after Smith was banned for a year, is hopeful that the Australian public would welcome the banned duo when their sanctions expire towards the end of March 2019.
“I think so. I hope they’re welcomed back. I mean everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will have a different view on it. But I think that once they’ve done their time I’m very hopeful that the Australian public will welcome those three guys back and give them a fair chance. I mean, just to be treated like all other cricketers are,” Paine said before the fourth Test at the SCG.
Smith and Warner could make their return to the national setup for the ODI series against Pakistan, which will be played towards the end of March. According to the Cricket Australia website, the series was scheduled from March 15-29, but Pakistan have reportedly proposed pushing it back to March 31-April 13.