Australia captain Tim Paine could not even watch the World Test Championship final between Virat Kohli led India and New Zealand last month after feeling bitterly disappointed over the over-rate fine that prevented the Baggy Greens from booking a place in the historic final.
Tim Paine feels disappointed
Tim Paine conceded that Australia were not able to complete their overs on time in the Gabba Test against India but called for consistency in over-rate penalties, saying he hasn’t seen many teams paying the price for lagging behind in over-rate.
India qualified for the WTC Final after finishing on top of the WTC points table with 72.2 Percentage of Points (PCT) earned. New Zealand piped Australia by 0.8 PCT after Australia have docked 4 points for slow over-rate in the Gabba Test.
Australia finished with 69.2 PCT while New Zealand leapfrogged them with 70. In fact, Australia 8 matches in 4 series but finished with 332 points, 88 less than Kane Williamson’s men.
“I didn’t watch too much,” Paine told reporters, as quoted by Australian media.
“I watched the last day. I turned it on excited to watch the first day, well I thought I was excited and then got a bit dirty and didn’t want to watch it so I flicked it off. Obviously, it rained as well for the first day”
“[I’m] bitterly disappointed that we weren’t there because of an over rate,” Paine added.
“We’ve always got things in place to try and help out with that but unfortunately, it doesn’t always work.
“Unfortunately, we were the team I think that’s borne the brunt of it for an over-rate. I think there’s been a lot of Test match cricket in the last two years where teams haven’t bowled their overs.
“I’m not sure how many teams lost points out of it but I think there needs to be a little bit more consistency around it, given now that the prize is so big and a couple of overs can cost you four points.
“Look we were behind on our overs, and that’s what it is. My thing is just with consistency.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow when you’re the only team that’s been docked points, and you see it happen Test match after Test match after test match.”
New Zealand eventually went on to beat India in the rain-marred WTC Final which saw a reserve day come into play. Kane Williamson‘s men won the historic title after outclassing Virat Kohli’s side by 8 wickets.
