'Leadership was not good enough', Tim Paine apologises for behaviour in Sydney Test

The Australian cricket team's behavior on the final day of the Sydney Test against India has come in for intense criticism. Australia skipper Tim Paine's sledge on Ravichandran Ashwin that this would be his last Test series in Australia has not gone down well with many people. In addition, there was plenty of 'unwanted' aggression from the Australian fielders as they looked to push on for a win in Sydney that would have ensured they did not lose the series. Tim Paine, in particular, had a poor day in the field as he dropped three catches. All these missed chances ensured India batted out 131 overs to ensure they would keep the Border-Gavaskar series alive. 

Speaking after the end of the Sydney Test, skipper Tim Paine apologised for the way how the team behaved on Monday and stated that his own leadership was not good enough. "It was a poor reflection of that. My leadership was not good enough. I let the pressure of the game get to me. It affected my mood and performance," Paine said. In addition to the dropped catches, Tim Paine did not help himself when he had an angry outburst with on-field umpire Paul Wilson over Cheteshwar Pujara not being given out by the third umpire after only one side of the review camera was being used to base the decision. Following the outburst, Tim Paine was fined 15 percent of his match fee for the action.

Australian Captain Tim Paine called an impromptu press conference this morning to apologise for his behaviour during the third Test.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/MGBRtujjUJ

— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) January 12, 2021

'Blip on the radar'

Tim Paine took over the Australian cricket team in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal and there was a cultural change with the way Australia played their game. For 18 months, they had maintained a good record but with the behavior in Sydney, Tim Paine admitted that it was a blip on the radar. 

"It is certainly not a reflection of how I want to lead the team. We set high standards over the last 18 months and yesterday, it was a blip in the radar. I needed to come out and address. I am bitterly disappointed with the way I behaved. My whole mood during the entire course of the Test match was slightly off. The way I spoke to the umpires on day 2 was disappointing. I have to cope that on the chin. It is not the way I want to lead the Australian team going forward. I talk to the players on how to play the game based on skill and not on emotion. Yesteray, I fell short on standards and expectations so bitterly disappointed with that. This is time for some self-reflection and learning from it and be able to move on to the Gabba Test," Paine said.