Sydney
\nTim Paine abruptly quit as Australian Test cricket captain Friday over an explicit \u201cprivate text exchange\u201d with a female colleague — a bombshell announcement just weeks before the Ashes series against arch-rivals England.
\nPaine sobbed as he quit one of the most high-profile roles in world cricket and Australian public life.
\n\u201cNearly four years ago, I was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague,\u201d Paine, now 36, said, referring to a series of allegedly sexually graphic exchanges with a female co-worker that are only now becoming public.
\n\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m deeply sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused to my wife, my family, and to the other party. I\u2019m sorry for any damage that this does to the reputation of our sport.\u201d
\nPaine\u2019s departure leaves Australia without a captain who, since being appointed in 2018, won praise for reforming the team\u2019s culture.
\nSaying he was relinquishing a role that he \u201cloved\u201d and described as the \u201cgreatest privilege\u201d of his life, Paine insisted he still plans to play in the upcoming series against England.
\n\u201cI will remain a committed member of the Australian cricket team and look forward with anticipation to what is a huge Ashes tour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sydney Tim Paine abruptly quit as Australian Test cricket captain Friday over an explicit \u201cprivate text exchange\u201d with a female colleague — a bombshell announcement just weeks before the Ashes series against arch-rivals England. Paine sobbed as he quit one of the most high-profile roles in world cricket and Australian public life. \u201cNearly four years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[423,425,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-228449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports","7":"tag-australia","8":"tag-scandal","9":"tag-tim-paine"},"yoast_head":"\n