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Australia Test captain Tim Paine has decided to step down as the skipper. The decision comes less than three weeks before the men’s Ashes. Tim Paine has taken this huge decision after the emergence of an investigation four years ago by Cricket Australia after he allegedly sent explicit messages to a female co-worker. He faced media in Hobart on Friday to announce he was resigning but will remain available for selection for the Ashes. It has been noted that the text messages date back to 2017, months before Paine was recalled to the Test team after a seven-year absence, and a joint Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania investigation cleared him at the time.
Tim Paine decides to quit as the Test Captain
Paine is trying to be fit for the first Ashes Test that is set to commence from December 8. He was named in a News Corp report as being at the centre of the case.
Here is what Paine said as he read out a statement: “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.”
Tim Paine noted that “the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and openly participated in.”
It turns out that the 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. However, Paine recently “became aware that this private text exchange was going to become public.” It has been noted that his “actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community.”
A subsequent statement by Cricket Tasmania said the allegations had only been brought to their attention when theft charges were laid against the employee in mid-2018 and that no complaint had been made at the time of the messages in November 2017.
Paine got the captaincy role in March 2018 following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Pat Cummins is Australia’s current vice-captain and had been slated to assume the role once Paine retired. If Paine was not to play the series, Alex Carey would be the frontrunner to take the gloves.
CA chair Richard Freudenstein said that the board accepted Paine’s resignation and has said that process of identifying and appointing a new Test captain will be accelerated.
Highlights:
- Tim Paine steps down as Test captain of Australia
- The decision comes after he allegedly sent explicit text messages
- He will be available for the upcoming Ashes
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