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Australian cricketer coach Justin Langer has unloaded himself on a barrage of “garbage” criticism directed at captain Tim Paine and superstar batsman Steve Smith.
Smith was broken by claiming he made a mistake, even cheated, in the third Test against India by scratching around the batting guard during the Rishabh Pant innings.
Paine’s verbal assault on Indian Ravi Ashwin – for which he apologized – has also been strongly criticized, as has its harbor office.
Langer was particularly critical of the charges against Smith, who often overshadows bats on the court during breaks.
“It was absolutely ridiculous,” Langer told reporters on Wednesday.
“We laughed at the way he only thinks of the stick. He was just standing there, thinking of the stick. He’s 100% innocent in there. Give me a break, I’ve never heard so much of the stick. nonsense of my life. “
Langer said Paine, credited with leading a reshuffle of the Australian team’s culture after the ball tampering scandal, had a solid record as captain and should be cut a bit.
“He didn’t have to apologize. He felt remorse and he came to us and said he wanted to put himself forward. I really respect him for that,” Langer said.
“For a guy who barely put his hair out of the line, for three years as captain of Australia… he was a little frustrated for two minutes. The guy is human, give him a break . “
Paine put his tactics to good use on the final day of Test 3, in which India escaped with a draw to leave the series at 1-1. Australia must win the fourth Test in Brisbane to claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The tall Indian whose name adorns the trophy, Sunil Gavaskar, tore up Paine’s tapes after the SCG draw. Gavaskar even predicted Brisbane could be Paine’s last game as a skipper.
“As a captain, (Paine) has no tactics at all,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“I mean when you have someone like a Mitchell Starc or a Pat Cummins, with the kind of pace and bounce they generate, not having an outfielder in the ravine of the legs for Indians who aren’t very large, it just tells you that you have no idea of ​​the harbor master’s office.
“Because when you push the ball around or under your shoulders, the strange ball will go up in the air. This happened in the first test, now still in this test there were some opportunities, but it didn’t. not done .. have someone there.
“Even towards the end, when it was clearly evident that India was looking to save the game and not win, he had a cover, when this man could have been brought in.
“Because even if a border had been crossed, it wasn’t going to affect the Australians. He could have had two men around the corner … and there were some chances that could have been taken if an extra man had been there. .
“So as a captain, well he’s hopeless and he’s probably the last captain in this series from a tactical standpoint.”
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