While the four-match Test series between the hosts Australia and the visitors India is currently standing at 1-1 with two Tests to go, the hosts captain Tim Paine feels that they are getting better with every Test but they are not top of the visitors.
The third Test of the series is going to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne) which will begin on Wednesday (December 26). While the Aussie skipper Tim Paine feels that the Perth Test victory will boost their confidence, they are now looking forward in this Test series.
Prior to the crucial Boxing Day Test match, Paine said, “I don’t feel like we are on top of them. We feel like we are getting better with every Test. We are improving with every game but we need to keep stacking up good days and play good Test cricket. If we can do that for the next 4-5 days I think we will be in the thick of it again.
“Certainly when you have an inexperienced team and you get a big win like in Perth against the number one team in the world, guys are going to grow in confidence a little bit and come to Melbourne feeling better than when we did to Perth.”
The visitors are going to make three changes for the Melbourne Test as Mayank Agarwal will debut and Rohit Sharma & Ravindra Jadeja will also return to the squad in the replacement of openers Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and the pacer Umesh Yadav.
Talking about India’s changes, Paine said, “India’s changes don’t really bother us because we have done our homework on all of their players for a number of weeks now. We have been prepared for all of them to play. What they do is their business, and we will keep focussing on what we are doing.”
Paine has been handed to lead the struggling and inexperienced Australian side since the Cape Town ball-tampering incident in this March. Since then, Australia has struggled but also has shown improvement with the time progress.
Paine spo0ke about his captaincy journey, “I haven’t changed a lot. I came into the team and into the job at a time when I have already been through so much as a cricketer and a person. I am bit older than most guys to come back into the scene so I have had a bit more life experience and happy being myself. That’s how I have kept it and so far it is working out okay. No need to change.”
For the Melbourne Test, Australia has made the only change in the squad as the all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will return to the playing XI in the replacement of the struggling Peter Handscomb.
Talking about Mitchell Marsh’s return to the Test squad, Paine said, “We did it last year during the Ashes as well and majority of this decision is based on the fact that it will be hot and the bowlers have had a big role play. We think Mitch can come in and do a good job with the bat and will be a great support for our bowlers as well.”
However, Paine also added that Peter Handscomb will also get the opportunity to make a return to the Test squad and it might be in the very next Test match of the series at Sydney where the ball spins more.
Paine added, “Peter knows that there are things we would like him to improve. Going into Sydney, where it normally spins, I think he will come back into it quickly because he is our best player of spin. He would like to get better because we all like to do that and he will be doing everything he can to come back into the side.”
Last year, the MCG pitch earned poor ratings for producing a batting friendly pitch. Though Paine feels that the pitch will be good in the upcoming Test match, it may not be changed drastically.
Paine said, “I think the pitch will be really good. It will be really hot as well for most of the game. Most of the [domestic Sheffield] Shield games have been played here, but there has been only one result. So I don’t think it will play drastically different from how it has played all these years, although it does look a bit different. But we saw in Perth looks can be deceiving at times.”
Observing the grassy track for the upcoming Boxing Day Test match, Paine feels they should go with the bat first if they win the toss.
The Aussie Test captain said, “I am not sure to be honest [if it is a bowl-first pitch]. The grass here can be deceiving and I haven’t played here this year but I have a few Victorians in our camp. They said it has looked worse than it has played at times and again with the hot weather around, it would be a hard one to win the toss and bowl I would imagine.”
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is currently the leading wicket-taker in this series as he has picked up 16 wickets in this series with the average of 19.43.
Talking about him, Paine said, “I said after Perth that we think Lyon is the best spinner in the world and we are really lucky to have him. Whether it spins here or not, at the moment, how Lyon has been bowling, it is irrelevant. He gets the job done in any conditions and we are lucky to have him in our side.”
