Published 11:06 IST, November 18th 2019
Tim Paine rubbishes Ben Stokes' allegations of Warner sledging him during Ashes 2019
Tim Paine has reprobated claims from England all-rounder Ben Stokes that David Warner was sledging him relentlessly during this year's Ashes series in England.
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Australia Test captain Tim Paine has reprobated claims from England all-rounder Ben Stokes that David Warner was sledging him relentlessly during this year's Ashes series.
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Stokes had written in his book 'On Fire' which is soon going to be released that Warner’s excessive sledging motivated him to score an incredible unbeaten century in Leeds that saw the hosts register a famous victory by one wicket.
Stokes along with tailender Jack Leach stitched a 76-run partnership for the final wicket to seal one of the most memorable Ashes win said that Warner’s relentless chatter made him resolute to bat on.
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Stokes is using Warner's name to spike the sale of his book: Paine
But Paine said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Warner's behaviour and accused the Englishman of using the Australian's name to increase the sale of his book.
While speaking to a leading cricketing website, Paine said that he was standing next to Warner the whole time and they were allowed to talk on the cricket field. But by no means did he abuse or sledge him. He went on to say that it just seemed to be a common trend in England to use Warner's name to spike book sales and wished them good luck.
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Paine was the second Australian to have dismissed Stokes’ claims after Pat Cummins did that on Friday. The right-arm quick said Warner was a bit of an easy target like a punching bag. He added that he was surprised when he read that because he had not heard anything.
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Earlier, Stokes had said that while he was batting in the second innings of the Headingley Test match, the Australians had resorted to their age-old tactics of sledging and Warner, in particular, was trying to play mind games with him. He then mentioned that it ended up motivating him to go on and win the contest for his side. Meanwhile, Stokes also went on to say that Warner did not shut for most of the time when the all-rounder was batting in the middle before adding that he could accept it from just about any other opponent but not from Warner.
Chasing a huge target of 359, the Joe Root-led side seemed down and out and that is when Stokes produced an innings of a lifetime as he scored a magnificent ton and stood firmly at one end while wickets continued to tumble from the other. His efforts paid off as his unbeaten 219-ball 135 helped England register a famous win by 1 wicket. This win helped England stage a comeback in the five-match series as the series came to life with a 1-1 scoreline
08:20 IST, November 18th 2019