Tim Paine quits as Australian Test captain following sexting scandal.
Tim Paine has quit as Test captain after being investigated by Cricket Australia for allegedly sending explicit messages to a female co-worker.
The veteran wicketkeeper, who has been facing a race against time to be fit for the first Ashes Test on December 8, has been named in a News Corp report as being at the centre of a sexting scandal. He reportedly sent a colleague a “d*** pic” as well as a series of lewd messages.
The 36-year-old fronted media in Hobart on Friday to announce he was resigning.
"It's an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket," he said.
"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. 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."
It is understood that the messages date back to 2017, months before Paine was recalled to the Test team after a seven-year absence.
Paine was elevated to the captaincy in March 2018 following the explosive fallout from the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins is Australia's current vice-captain and had been tipped to assume the role once Paine retired.
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