"I was certainly one of those people who made mistakes, I would have done some things differently with my field placings"
Tuesday 3 September 2019 14:22, UK
Tim Paine has refuted Jofra Archer's claim that Australia panicked as Ben Stokes led England to victory at Headingley - but admits he made "mistakes" as the tourists spurned the chance to retain the Ashes.
Australia had England nine wickets down with 73 runs required in the third Test in Leeds but a combination of Stokes' brilliant 135 not out, a dropped catch, a failed run out and wasted reviews saw the hosts pull off a remarkable win and keep the series alive.
Asked whether Australia had choked, skipper Paine, speaking ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, said: "No. I have addressed it previously. Jofra is entitled to his opinion - he has had plenty of those, that's for sure.
"We made some mistakes, it happens - we have addressed it as a team and spoken about it honestly. I was certainly one of those people who made mistakes, I would have done some things differently with my field placings.
"There were times, looking back at it, where it was obvious I should have had the field up and allowed Ben to hit a couple of boundaries so we had more balls at the tailender (Jack Leach).
"That's the main thing I would have done differently. It happens in cricket and we have moved on, learnt from it, and we are ready for another great Test match."
Australia could hand left-arm quick Mitchell Starc his first appearance of the series after he picked up seven wickets in the innings thrashing of Derbyshire last week.
Starc is in a 12-man squad and appears to be vying with Peter Siddle for the final pace-bowling spot alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood with James Pattinson rested.
Usman Khawaja has been axed, though, after averaging 20.33 from the No 3 berth in the series so far, with a top score of 40.
On Starc's chances of playing in Manchester, Paine said: "They are good. He is in the 12, so he is close. We will have another look at the wicket - it looks pretty dry and hopefully it has got a bit of pace in it.
"Starcy bowled superbly last week at Derby. He has been working really hard on getting his length right and we were really impressed.
"We know what he can do to tail-end batters when he cranks it up. The boys have been calling him 'the mop' for a few years now.
"He is a great option for us. We think this wicket might suit him and, if we make that call, we are sure he will do a great job."
On Khawaja being the man to miss out with Steve Smith now fit to return after a concussion, Paine added. "Usman is a key player but he hasn't scored the runs that he or we would like.
"With Smith coming back it was a tough decision to make on Usman.
"We still think he has got a lot of cricket left in him. He has had a very good Test record over his career and we expect that he will bounce back very strongly."
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