Tim Paine would have been sacked as Australia test captain three years ago over the sexually explicit messages he sent to a female colleague had the current leadership of Cricket Australia been in place, chair Richard Freudenstein said on Saturday. Paine quit the post on Friday after media revelations he had been investigated over the messages he sent to a former Cricket Tasmania female staffer in 2017 even though he was exonerated by a Cricket Australia integrity review. Paine’s “interaction” with the woman was “consensual, private, occurred on the one occasion only … and was not repeated,” Cricket Tasmania said. The scandal has left Australia without a captain less than three weeks before the Ashes series against England begins with the first test in Brisbane. “There are a range of candidates available for that role, Steve Smith is one of the candidates available for that role,” he said.

Source: Indian Express November 20, 2021 23:27 UTC