Tim Paine feels Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s egoistic approach was the reason behind some of England’s erroneous decisions in the first Ashes Test where Australia registered a thrilling two-wicket win in Birmingham despite England’s aggressive intent. However, England will hope to bounce back in the series by registering a win in the second, playing at Lord’s in London from Wednesday, June 28.

During an interaction on SEN Breakfast, Paine said: “It’s been interesting and really fascinating to watch when you have got a captain and a coach who are really similar. They have both kind of got pretty big egos, they are both very aggressive, and always wanting to move the game forward. The brand they are trying to play is excellent, it’s great to watch. I think at times it goes over into their decision-making, we saw with the declaration and some of the things they did during that Test match.”

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Tim Paine further added that the approach needs to be tempered at times as well. Stokes, however, declared England’s first innings at 393/8 on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test, with Joe Root batting on an unbeaten 118 as well and their move backfired in the end.

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“At times you have just got to use some cricket smarts and know when to put the foot on the accelerator and when to absorb some pressure. So far we have seen that they are going to keep putting their foot on the accelerator. It’s been fascinating, I can’t decide if that’s exactly what they are doing, if they are trying to fake it until they make it, or if they are a bit delusional. The way they have reacted has been extraordinary, to be honest. Ollie Robinson, this bloke has been here for five minutes. From my experience with him though, that’s his personality,” Tim Paine concluded.