‘We would be kicking ourselves’: Tim Paine has no regrets over declaration
Australian skipper Tim Paine has defended his decision to declare and deny David Warner the opportunity to break Brian Lara’s world record.
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Tim Paine insists he has no regrets about stopping David Warner’s batting assault against Pakistan when Brian Lara’s world-record 400-run mark was in sight.
Paine’s decision to declare with Warner on 335 not out will remain the talking point of the Adelaide Test, despite the opener insisting the move had his backing.
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Warner had hit his last 35 runs in 23 balls, and just passed Mark Taylor and Don Bradman’s top scores of 334 to go second on the all-time list of Australians.
Rain had been forecast for the majority of both Sunday and Monday, and Australia were keen to declare by 5:40pm and bowl at Pakistan in the twilight with the pink ball.
That decision paid off, with Mitchell Starc taking four wickets to put Australia in an even more dominant position with the tourists 6-96 at stumps.
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“It’s a tough one, no doubt. I think everyone would have loved to see the 400-mark get beaten,” Paine told Channel 7.
“But unfortunately with the weather that’s around, we made a decision as a team that we would put in place a time.
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“Davey was part of that decision and was all for it. We are here to win Test matches.” Former Australian players Taylor and Brett Lee have both since claimed Warner could have been given the chance to pursue Lara’s record, with Australia still having more than enough time to win the Test.
However also playing into Paine’s thoughts were the 60 World Test Championship points now on offer for a win, making it even more vital than a draw that still would’ve claimed the series 1-0.
“With the Test championship here now and 60 points on the line, if we had kept batting and it rained for a day ... we would be kicking ourselves.”
Originally published as ‘We would be kicking ourselves’: Tim Paine has no regrets over declaration