Tim Paine could be in hot water for swearing and questioning the judgement of the match officials after a DRS review for a catch at short leg was shot down.

The incident occurred in the 56th over of India’s innings in the third Test at the SCG, with Australia going up for a bat-pad catch at short leg against Cheteshwar Pujara off the bowling of Nathan Lyon. Paine reacted excitedly to the Snickometer display as the ball passed the bat, only to be mystified when the review wasn’t upheld.

He was then heard discussing the decision with umpire Paul ‘Blocker’ Wilson. “He’s making the decision, not me, I’m not third umpire,” Wilson explained to Paine, in an attempt to assuage the Australia captain.

“F***ing consistency, Blocker,” Paine replied. “There’s a thing that goes past it.”

Paine’s complaints over consistency are an apparent reference to his second-innings dismissal in the second Test at the MCG. Paine voiced his displeasure at that decision after Australia’s series-levelling defeat.

“I knew I didn’t hit it. It is what it is,” he told ABC Grandstand. “My thing with Snicko is it doesn’t differentiate what the noise is. It could have been anything. If I’m totally honest with what happened yesterday, I wasn’t too upset with the technology, I was upset with the use of the technology. I thought there was other angles that should have been looked at before that was given out that showed I didn’t hit the ball.”

A side-by-side of the Snicko portions of the two reviews shows the decision in which Paine was given out to have more of a spike, though the line is not completely flat in the second.

https://twitter.com/TimPaineFans/status/1347693483604103168

Paine was criticised by users on social media for his outburst, and could be in line for a punishment from the ICC. Both use of an obscenity and dissent at an umpire’s decision are offences under the ICC’s code of conduct. While the former is only a Level 1 offence, if the latter is adjudged to be a Level 2 breach, Paine would receive at least one suspension point. However, he’s unlikely to be banned for the last game of the series, with an accumulation of two suspension points needed to rule a player out of a Test match.

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