With less than three weeks to go for the first Ashes test match against England, Tim Paine has relinquished the post of Australia’s Test captaincy after being mired in a ‘Sexting’ scandal with a former Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017.
The wicket-keeper announced his resignation at a press conference in Hobart on Friday following the emergence of an investigation four years ago by Cricket Australia for sending explicit messages to a female co-worker. The Australian Cricket Board has accepted Tim’s resignation, and will now look ahead to appointing a new Test captain.
“Today, I’m announcing my decision to stand down as the captain of the Australian men’s test team. It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket,” Paine said as he read out a statement.
Australian wicket-keeper sent “d*** pic” and a series of lewd messages to female co-worker: Reports
Australian media on Friday reported that Paine had sent a former Cricket Tasmania employee unsolicited “d*** pics” and a series of lewd messages on the eve of the 2017/18 Ashes series.
In his press conference, Paine admitted to sending explicit messages to a female co-worker and expressed his remorse for having done so. He offered his side of the story, but added that his behaviour did not behoove an Australian captain and therefore, in the light of the reports made around the incident, he believes it was appropriate for him to resign. Although, he said he will remain available as a player.
“As a background on my decision, nearly four years ago, I was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague. At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and openly participated in,” he added.
“That investigation and a Cricket Tasmania HR investigation at the same time found that there had been no breach of the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct. Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at the time, and still do today. I spoke to my wife and family at the time and am enormously grateful for their forgiveness and support. We thought this incident was behind us and that I could focus entirely on the team, as I have done for the last three or four years,” Tim said.
“I don’t want to create unnecessary disruption for the Australian team before the Ashes”: Tim Paine
“However, I recently became aware that this private text exchange was going to become public. On reflection, my actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community. I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused to my wife, my family, and to the other party. I’m sorry for any damage that this does to the reputation of our sport. And I believe that it is the right decision for me to stand down as captain, effective immediately. I do not want this to become an unwelcome disruption to the team ahead of what is a huge Ashes Series,” Tim added.
