Paine laments Australian capitulation

Cape Town : Stand-in Australia captain Tim Paine described a “bizarre, strange and horrible” 24 hours that culminated in his side suffering a 322-run defeat to South Africa.

Australia have been engulfed in a ball-tampering scandal which prompted regular captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner to resign earlier on Sunday and could claim more casualties in the coming days as Cricket Australia launch an internal review.

That process is likely to be watched closely by the Australian public, who have been dismayed by sportsmen they once revered turning to cheating to get an advantage.

“It’s been a bizarre, strange and horrible 24 hours,” Paine told reporters after the heavy defeat in Cape Town.

“It was extremely difficult, though that is certainly no excuse for what you saw in the last 45 minutes. We are still the Australian cricket team, we are expected to put up a better effort than what we did today, but it was in some trying circumstances.”