Tim Paine has resigned as captain of the Australian men’s cricket team

Australian cricket’s Tim Paine has stood down as captain after being investigated by Cricket Australia over sending a co-worker an explicit image of himself along with a string of lewd messages.

It’s an extreme turnaround for the the 36-year-old who was of course promoted to captain following the ball tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018, he’s now resigned in shame ahead of the Ashes.

Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein said “Tim felt it was in the best interests of his family and Australian cricket to take this decision to step down as captain.

Speaking to media in Hobart on Friday afternoon, Paine confirmed he had stepped down as Australian Test captain with immediate effect.

“It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket,” he said.

“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.

“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. 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.

The announcement comes less than three weeks out from the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, which is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, December 8.