"All I know is I was coming here to do this series and I've said a few times before, when you are my age it's a bit foolish to look ahead."
Monday 25 June 2018 10:04, UK
Australia captain Tim Paine admitted he had "let the pressure of the series get to me" after his side suffered a 5-0 ODI whitewash at the hands of England.
Paine's Australia had the chance to salvage a victory from the final game of a series in which England blasted them for a world-record 481 at Trent Bridge as they reduced the home side to 114-8 in response to their 205 at Old Trafford.
But, Jos Buttler scored a stunning unbeaten 110, sharing in an 81-run stand with Adil Rashid, to guide England to a thrilling one-wicket win and crush a visibly emotional Paine at the post-match presentation.
Paine was leading the side in his first full series as captain following the year-long ban dished out to ex-skipper Steve Smith after his role in the ball-tampering scandal that plagued their Test tour of South Africa in March.
"That one stung," Paine said after the slender defeat at Old Trafford. "It wasn't as difficult as Trent Bridge but we've certainly been taught a lesson from a world-class outfit.
"I thought we were in trouble at the halfway mark, but our bowlers came out and committed really well to what we spoke about doing during the first hour, and we created enough chances.
"I thought we had them under pressure. But Buttler, and Rashid, played really well and, as I've said time and time again this series, once we've been put under pressure - whether it be with bat, ball or in the field - we've folded a little bit if we're completely honest.
"I don't think we got enough balls in the right area. We bowled a touch wide for the start of their partnership. We saw earlier, when Billy [Stanlake] targeted the stumps a lot more, we created chances. That's a lesson we've got to learn.
"It has been difficult, but it sort of goes with the job. I've come back into Test cricket, tried to enjoy that as much as I could, and I've probably let the pressure of this series get to me a little bit.
"Clearly when you're not performing, things aren't as fun at international level. That's how it goes sometimes."
Speaking later to Cricket Australia's website about his future as captain, Paine said: "All I know is I was coming here to do this series and I've said a few times before, when you are my age it's a bit foolish to look ahead.
"Certainly, I am really looking forward to captaining the Test team and continuing how I have been playing in that format, but where I go with the rest of my cricket is something we will discuss in the coming weeks."
Despite his team's struggles, Paine was able to pick out a few positives from the series, particularly the performances of the younger players in the squad.
Alex Carey (44) and D'Arcy Short (47no) impressed with the bat at Old Trafford, while 23-year-old Stanlake finished with impressive figures of 3-35 from his 10 overs.
"Today we saw that Alex and D'Arcy are two really good young players, again after our senior players again let us down," added Paine.
"We've also seen Stanlake, Ashton Agar - there's some real talent in this group - and as I've said previously, if we can get our best team on the park with some of these talented youngsters, anything is possible."
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