Tim Paine: Australia retaining the Ashes means more after Cape Town and Headingley episodes

NICK HOWSON AT OLD TRAFFORD: The tourists' skipper has hailed his side's character after a turbulent 18 months for the squad

Australia captain Tim Paine says the controversial sandpaper episode at Cape Town and the stunning defeat at Headingley last week makes retaining Ashes even sweeter.

Victory over England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford gives the tourists a 2-1 lead in the series with one game to play.

It caps a remarkable about-turn for Australia, who saw three players including Steve Smith and David Warner banned for their part in the ball-tampering affair which occurred against South Africa in March 2018.

Paine saw his side come agonisingly close to retaining the urn in the third Test at Headingley only for a series of mistakes and Ben Stokes' remarkable 135 not out help England square the series.

But having finally got the job done in Manchester, the skipper has paid tribute to the character his team have displayed in recovering from their various moments of hardship.

"The group has clearly been through a fair bit of adversity, some more than others," he said. "A lot the guys have been through what happened at Cape Town. 

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"Times like that you find out what sort of people you've got. They can roll up and give up or they can keep fighting.

"We've got a group of guys can don't give up and keep fighting and keep wanting to get better and keep wanting to be in situations like we were at Headingley.

"Those games you win make why you play it very special. The Headingley loss makes today certainly a little bit sweeter. I think a few people wrote us off."

The one-wicket loss at Headingley came as Australia spurned numerous chances to win the Test, a victory which would have secured the urn.

To respond from that heartbreak and bounce back to win the fourth Test shows the team have a unique mental fortitude, according to Paine.

"That was a loss that would break a lot of teams," he added. "I was really confident that we weren't one of those teams. 

"I could feel it. I thought we handled that week perfectly. We turned up here and did our jobs as good cricket teams and sports teams do."