Tim Paine was meant to be Mr Nice Guys, the acceptable and clean face of Australian cricket. This persona would make it possible for the Baggy Green to get their reputation back in the wake of the Sandpapergate scandal. That worked out well.
To get English cricket’s race crises off the top of this week’s news, at least temporarily, has been a difficult task. The Aussies pulled it off on Friday, with yet another captain in disgrace resigning.
Paine wasn’t what Australia had hoped he would become. Paine was not the trusted pair of hands who could hold the tiller, but he turned into a fun figure and did little as a captain, batsman or keeper.
Tim Paine, Australia’s cricket captain in 2018, was appointed as an extra pair of eyes.
His role was supposed to take the team forward following Sandpapergate. However, it ended in tears.
After his scandalous sexting, Paine issued an emotional and public apology to Bonnie
It is only necessary to recall the mess Paine made with his tactics, and his reckless use of DRS while Ben Stokes was taking the Headingley Test in 2019 alone to realize that a man who has not scored a century in 35 Tests wasn’t Mike Brearley.
Paine was trying to appear macho Aussie most of the time, but instead became entangled in verbal knots like confusing Winston Churchill’s wisdom with that of David Icke before 2019 Ashes. Or saying to Ravi Ashwin, “wait till we get your to Brisbane,” when Australia faced India earlier this year. This worked out well too.
Paine was a bit sour when he said that the first Test would start in Brisbane on December 8, regardless of Joe Root’s presence.
Tim will not be there as the England captain, but he won’t mind. The most absurd part of Friday’s familiar, emotional staged apology was that Paine would still be available to select for Ashes. If he is able to heal from his swollen disk. You could never make it up.
Paine wasn’t the only Aussie captain who cried in front of the media. In 2018, it was Steve Smith
Paine’s wife Bonnie, whom he has been married to for five years, was aware of the messages at the time but chose to stick by him
Paine, 36 years old, shared a photo and stream of lewd texts with his female colleague.
When Australia hired him to be a keeper-batsman, he was not competent enough. The accusations of cheating were also hanging over Australia three years ago. Matthew Wade, Alex Carey, and Matthew Wade make better keeper-batsmen.
But tempting as it is to indulge in schadenfreude at the old enemy’s misfortune so close to the first Test – and how welcome it is Australia will be wrapped up in their own scandal rather than concentrate on England’s when battle begins in Brisbane – there is a very serious side to the emergence of the skeleton in Paine’s cupboard.
Cricket Australia has been accused of concealing a cover-up. These revelations echo those that rocked English Cricket this week and suggest deep cultural problems in one of cricket’s largest and most powerful countries.
Paine became captain of the team in March 2018, after Cameron Bancroft and Cameron Warner had carried the bag for the ball-tampering by South Africa in Cape Town. This was something that was impossible to believe.
Three months later, Cricket Australia and Paine’s state of Tasmania became aware that a Cricket Tasmania employee had made allegations about sexual harassment of Paine, the nation’s captain.
Although an investigation was conducted, it is likely that someone in the governing body knew it needed to be publicized. Because it isn’t enough for Paine to be exonerated, it must also not be true that they were exonerated.
This, however, is just another example of the growing problem in cricket. They continue to sweep unacceptable behaviours under the rug in hopes no-one will notice. The Aussie board was far too late to condone Paine’s actions yesterday.
Paine stated that he spoke with his wife and was extremely grateful to her for forgiveness.
Paine’s sins are a sign of a deep-rooted cultural problem within Cricket Australia
It must have been okay for them to do so in 2018. It was unacceptable that they would have condoned it in 2018.
Cricket Australia correctly punished Smith, Warner, and Bancroft for their cheating. However they chose to keep Paine as a family man because of his good character.
It is hard to believe that Paine’s words when he was made captain are still being uttered today. Paine preached that ‘we want to develop a culture that encourages people to strive for excellence and create better cricketers, as well as better people. We know the right things and what is wrong. We will hold one another accountable.
It turned out that he sent a woman, just three months prior to the Ashes Test, “a sexually explicit and unwelcome photograph of his genitals in addition to some graphic sexual remarks.”
Although the scandal broke on Friday morning, Paine stated that he and his wife had worked through it at the time. He also said she was forgiving him and supporting him.
Pat Cummins is favourite to become Australia Captain (pictured arriving at Brisbane).
With less than three weeks before the start of the Test Australia must find a new captain. The feel-good factor that was generated last week by the Twenty20 World Cup win has now evaporated.
Steve Smith would be their best choice, but Australia wouldn’t want to lose him. It is more likely that Pat Cummins will be appointed as their new ambassador, which is a good thing considering he has enough to do to keep fit and lead the attack in five challenging Tests.
Australia has ended its bizarre experiment of trying to make Tim Paine a leader worthy following in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, and Ian Chappell. They are not going to lift the urn and go out in glory.
Tim Paine’s dramatic fall and rise in the Sexting Scandal
Australian captain Tim Paine walks for change during a test cricket match against India, at Sydney Cricket Ground. Sydney, Australia, Jan. 9, 2021
2010. Tim Paine, who replaces Brad Haddin in the Test match against Pakistan 2010, is made his Test debut, but is discarded upon the return of incumbent
April 2016: Paine marries Bonnie Maggs
November 17, 2017: Ashes Series received a shock recall
November 22-23 2017, Paine sent lewd messages and photos to a coworker. This was on the morning of the Ashes Test, Brisbane. Both had exchanged text messages throughout the year.
February 2018: South Africa Tour Squad Selections
March 25, 2018: Steve Smith and David Warner were sacked over the’sandpapergate,’ ball-tampering scandal
March 28, 2018, Paine becomes the 46th captain of Australia’s side.
April 2018: Awarded a national contract by Cricket Australia
June 2018, Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania are made aware by the messages. They launch investigations after a woman’s complaint. Paine says he was exonerated in the course of the investigation. Bonnie, his wife, was alert to the messages and chose not to follow him.
2018-2021: Paine remains Test captain and retains the Ashes in England for 2019.
November 19, 2021. Paine steps down, as all details about the explicit messages surface