Certainly respect what the Kiwis do on international stage; they played outstandingly, admits Tim Paine

Australian Test skipper Tim Paine applauded New Zealand for lifting the World Test Championship final after they beat India by eight wickets in Southampton on Wednesday. Paine called New Zealand’s game an outstanding one and mentioned that it is always a pleasure to watch them play. 

Earlier, Paine had predicted that India would win the WTC final comfortably but after New Zealand’s triumph he went on to accept his erred intuition in public. Paine, who hails from the island state of Tasmania, acknowledged New Zealand’s heroics in the final and respected them for their remarkable show at the international level. 

"We all get some wrong. I copped a bit from the Kiwi fans, so I thought I'd come on air and eat some humble pie. I thought the New Zealanders played outstandingly. It's always a pleasure to watch the way they go about it. For such a small nation - I'm from Tasmania which is obviously our smallest resource state and we punch above our weight - so I certainly respect what the Kiwis do on an international stage," Paine told Newstalk ZB, as reported by stuff.co.nz.

New Zealand has always managed to get the best output from the minimal amount of resources at its disposal. Devon Conway, who played his third Test in the final, notched up his third fifty-plus score with Kyle Jamieson scalping seven wickets in the game which included his fifth five-wicket haul in the first two innings. Paine mentioned Conway and Jamieson’s inclusion to the Test side was New Zealand’s another set of talent hunt with the experience of Taylor and Williamson makes them look good as a team. 

"They've added a big tall fast bowler who rarely misses his length, complemented by Trent Boult and Tim Southee. The height that he comes down from is clearly troubling batsmen around the world. Devon Conway has come into all formats of cricket for New Zealand and done really well. When you have a good start at the top of the order, then you've got Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and Henry Nicholls -- they just keep coming, they're a good side and always have been," mentioned Paine.  

New Zealand is the team that has consistently shown their top-class performances in the international arena, they also came close to winning the 2019 World Cup. Paine said that other teams should not take anything away from the Black Caps. 

"You want to be playing in that Test - that's why I couldn't watch the first three or four nights of it because I was dirty that we weren't there. It's a showpiece event, it's a World Cup final. Can we make it better? Yes, we probably can but we shouldn't take anything away from New Zealand," said Paine.