Ashes 2019 | I have lost sleep thinking about ways to get Ben Stokes out, admits Tim Paine

Nine days on from Ben Stokes’ unbeaten 135 that carried England to a famous series-levelling one-wicket win at the Headingley, the Aussies are still caught up thinking about plans to outwit the England all-rounder. Australia let slip what looked like a certain victory – that would have ensured they retained the Ashes away from home for the first time since 2001 – with England needing 73 runs with just one wicket in hand. Several questions have been raised against Paine’s tactics during the final hour of play at Headingley.

"Nah, I haven't lost a hell of a lot of sleep thinking about my captaincy. But I have lost a bit of sleep thinking how we're going to get him out, that's for sure. He's a class player, and he's really confident at the moment. He's going well. As I said, we've got some plans for him - but we've just got to execute them a bit better," Paine told Reuters.

However, the 34-year-old did engage in some honest criticism of his own captaincy in the match that let England level the series at 1-1.

"We made some mistakes, it happens. We have addressed it as a team and spoken about it honestly. I was certainly one of those people who made mistakes. There were times, looking back at it, where it was obvious I should have had the field up and allowed Ben to hit a couple of boundaries so we had more balls at the tailender (Jack Leach). It happens in cricket and we have moved on, learnt from it, and we are ready for another great Test match," he said.

Another great Test match is on the line as the two long-standing rivals meet at Old Trafford, Manchester, for the penultimate Test in the five-match series. Ahead of the clash, Paine hopes his side can also improve their fielding – particularly in the close-in positions – off the bowling of Lyon, the one bowler who has troubled Stokes. 

"I think Nathan has actually bowled really well to him. He's created a number of chances each time he's bowled to him. But the other side of it is we hold our chances when Nathan is bowling to him. If we can do that, I think he can open the game up for us through that middle order. The last two Tests, in particular, we've let Nathan down a bit with our fielding," Paine added.