Australia captain will come under scrutiny because of tactics and use of reviews but his style of leadership shone throughThis isn’t a great week to be Tim Paine. Australia’s Test captain has always been vulnerable to criticism: given he first took over the team in caretaker mode, it’s an easy move to question his legitimacy. Double down with the fact he was initially picked as almost a specialist wicketkeeper, with his batting closer to useful than dominant. These shots are cheap, but it was only ever going to take a bad loss or a couple of low scores before people took them.
Anyone’s captaincy will fairly come under scrutiny when a team concedes a fourth-innings chase well over 300 or after a hefty last-wicket partnership. The same goes for bowling out an opponent for 67 and still losing. You can question Paine’s tactics of putting the field back for Ben Stokes so early and you can question his use of reviews after a late, incorrect referral when Pat Cummins hit Jack Leach on the pad. But knowing what didn’t work is of course the province of hindsight.