Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine said Justin Langer was devastated when he spoke about his decision to leave his high-profile role in the sexting scandal. Paine said it was a tough but right decision ahead of the home Ashes series starting on December 8.
Tim Paine stepped down as Australia’s Test captain on Sunday, saying he knew the implicit messages he sent to a former female colleague were ready to be revealed to the public. Penn acknowledged in a tearful message that his actions from the past did not qualify him to lead the senior national side.
Tim Paine was cleared of any misconduct in 2018 following Cricket Australia’s investigation into the issue following a complaint from a female colleague. Paine took over as Australia’s Test captain in the same year following the Sandpaper Gate controversy, in which Steve Smith lost his captaincy.
However, Paine decided to quit the top job in Australian cricket to avoid distractions ahead of the 2021-22 home Ashes.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, Paine said that many people, including Justin Langer, urged him to stay on as captain, while insisting that his teammates were not already aware of the sexting scandal.
“JL (Langer) told me he was devastated. He was quite determined that he wanted me to continue as captain, and then, once I told him the reason I felt it was best to resign.” thing, so he was with me along the way,” said Paine.
“I get the message from all my teammates that they’ve got my back, and we all make mistakes, and we move on.”
I knew it was the right call to resign: Pain
Meanwhile, Paine said that he was not forced to relinquish the captaincy and that the decision to stand down as captain was his personal choice.
“It was mine and mine alone. It was hard, but I know it’s the right thing to do. I feel completely hopeless, but it’s all my job, and I know it’s the right call to resign,” They said.
Questions have been raised on how Australia allowed Tim Paine to remain captain despite the sexting scandal. However, Cricket Australia president Richard Freudenstein and CEO Nick Hockley acknowledged on Saturday that they may have fired Tim Paine as captain because he was in charge during the 2018 investigation.
Some former Australian cricketers are backing pacer Pat Cummins to take over as captain, while Steve Smith’s name is also on the list of candidates for the top job.