Paine: ‘There’ll be a lot of talk about our batting – and rightly so’

The wicket-keeper admits it's a massive concern and has cited a plethora of issues that his side needs to address, especially in the batting department. “It’s technical, it’s mental, it’s pressure – it’s a mixture of all those things,” he said after the second Test.

“We didn’t play well enough. We let a huge opportunity slip, having a team 50-odd for five on day one. Allowing them to get where they did and put pressure back on us is really disappointing. There’ll be a lot of talk about our batting – and rightly so.

“There’s a lot of work to be done but we’re not hiding from it. We applied ourselves really well in the second innings of the first Test, but to take one step forward then two steps back here is disappointing.”

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas took match-figures of 10/95, and after ten Tests has a superb bowling average of 15.64. Paine concedes that Australia couldn’t provide an answer to the threat posed by the 28-year-old.

“He’s incredibly disciplined – challenges your front-foot defence every ball. He makes the batsman make a decision – shall I go forward or back, play or leave? He bowls constant good areas.”