Paine dismisses Pakistan's momentum talk

Australia’s Test skipper Tim Paine, in a press conference on Thursday, dismissed talks of Pakistan’s burgeoning momentum after their impressive showing against Australia A in their recently concluded three-day practice match.

Paine clarified that the events at Perth would not have a massive bearing in the eventual showdown between Australia and Pakistan at the Gabba.

“I saw that Pakistan are smelling blood in the water or whatever they said. What happened in Perth has got nothing to do with what is going to happen at the Gabba,” said Paine.

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The 34-year-old pointed out the similarities between the current situation and the one where England played the Headingly Test.

“The same thing happened in England with the Headingley Test – ‘oh, momentum’ and all these words that don’t matter. Ball one at the Gabba next week is all square and we start again,” he said.

Paine praised opener Joe Burns and claimed that the batsman had the ability to help his side by scoring a lot of runs.

“That was a tough call to make, for Joe to miss out on that (series),” he said. “He has come back to Queensland and hasn't put huge runs on the board but I think has been pretty consistent. He has shown over the years that he is a class player and his best cricket will score Test runs.”

The Aussie skipper also praised the performance of batsman Travis Head and expressed confidence in his ability to perform against Pakistan.

“He (Head) he obviously scored an excellent hundred last week against a world-class attack so I'm sure he has taken a lot of confidence from that. Trav's Test match record is outstanding for such a young cricketer. We have got full confidence in him,” he concluded.