Sydney: Australia Test skipper Tim Paine has clarified that he didn’t try to make up any excuses for the series loss against India earlier this year.
Paine had indicated that Australia was distracted by Team India during the tour which eventually saw the hosts losing the Test series in January this year.
“I was asked a number of things, and one of those was talking about the challenges of playing against India. One of them is the distraction they can create,” Paine said on the ‘Gilly and Goss podcast’.
“There was a lot of talk that they weren’t going to Brisbane. They’re always changing gloves and bringing out physios and all that can get on your nerves. Just said that was one of the things that probably distracted me and took my eye of the ball at times,” he added.
The Australian skipper reiterated that he “wasn’t making excuses” when he said the visitors created “sideshows”.
“But also, I did say that they simply outplayed us and that they deserved to win but they left that one out. The Indian fans have been slamming me on social media. They say that I’m making excuses again but it’s all good fun,” said Paine.
India defeated Australia by three wickets against all odds in the final Test of the four-match series at The Gabba in January to take the series 2-1.
The last time a visiting team came out triumphant from the Brisbane Cricket Ground was back in November 1988 when the mighty West Indian outfit under the leadership of Viv Richards thrashed Allan Border’s team by nine wickets.