‘You don’t have to talk rubbish’

ADELAIDE: Australian captain Tim Paine says he’s proud of the way his team not only fought hard against India but played in the right spirit as they put on a friendlier face after the ball-tampering scandal.

The opening Test in Adelaide was the first at home for Australia since the cheating row blew up in South Africa last March, leading to bans for then skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.

A scathing review into the scandal criticised Australian cricketers for “playing the mongrel” against opponents and in response the team produced a players’ pact vowing to tone down their infamous abrasive attitude.

Both teams shook hands before and after the match as a mark of respect and Paine said his team showed “you didn’t have to carry on like a pork chop” to be competitive in a match that went to the wire.

“We played in good spirits. I don’t know about the Indians, we didn’t pay attention to them and we won’t be for the whole series,” he said Monday. “We can only concentrate on the brand and the style of cricket that we want to play.

“From a cricket point of view, we have some areas to tighten up and I thought today was a nice snapshot of how we want to go about it. “We fought really hard and never gave up, and you don’t have to talk rubbish and carry on a like a pork chop to prove that.”