Australia can match England’s depth better: Paine

Tim Paine, a former captain of Australia’s Test team, believes that England lacks the depth to compete with Pat Cummins and company in the upcoming Ashes series, but he also believes that the visitors will continue to improve with each match.

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series with an exciting two-wicket victory against England in the opener on a flat Edgbaston surface.

“I thought the Australians played well in the first Test, and I think we have a lot of room for improvement.” Paine remarked on SEN Radio, “I’m not convinced the Poms have the depth to go with us.

“We had heard before the series that they preferred flat, hard surfaces. They obtained it in the first test, but it was unsuccessful.

England’s captain Ben Stokes had said that quick, flat grounds were preferred in order to play their aggressive brand of cricket.

A green wicket has apparently been created for the second Test at Lord’s after the home team’s defeat in Birmingham prompted them to alter their strategy, according to Paine.

It will be intriguing since the pitch for tonight looks like everyone’s backyard in Australia. They are undoubtedly attempting to restart the Test match with Stuart Broad and James Anderson. They didn’t really make a difference (in Birmingham).

Paine said that while the top bowlers Anderson and Broad will return to the mix because to the green track, the home hitters would struggle on it.

They are highly dependent on Joe Root, their top three is questionable, and although a green surface would allow Anderson and Broad to re-enter the game, I believe their hitters will struggle greatly.

On the other side, Australians also need to become better.

Given that we know how England will play, Paine said, “We had a number of our good players down and I think our depth and ability to play any situation, any condition, and at any tempo is a real advantage in this series.”

They will strike with great force, which makes them extremely predictable. They’ll somewhat cooperate with us, and we may take advantage of their ego.

But Paine is optimistic that Australia will improve as the series goes on.

“I believe we’ll improve as the series progresses because of our depth and the fact that several of our greatest players were injured.

They now appear to depend on far too few, in my opinion. They attempt to get you before you get them effectively because they know they can’t compete against Pat Cummins for extended periods of time without making errors, according to Paine.

“We saw in the first Test that they’re not good enough for long enough,” the author said. “If you can stem their boundaries and make them work a little bit harder for their runs.”

Both Stokes and McCullum are combative and egotistical.

Paine believes that the tendency of both Test captain Stokes and new coach McCullum to play an exciting and aggressive style of cricket sometimes clouds their judgement.

“Having a captain (Stokes) and coach (McCullum) who are so similar has been surprising and fascinating to see. They both have somewhat inflated egos, are quite aggressive, and are always looking to advance the game.

“It’s fun to see and the brand they’re attempting to play is amazing. The declaration (in the first innings) and other actions they took during that Test match, in my opinion, show that sometimes it affects their decision-making.

He said, “There are moments when you simply have to utilise some cricket smarts and know when to push on the pedal and when to absorb some pressure.