Tim Paine steps down as Australia Test captain over sexting scandal

Tim Paine has stepped down as captain of the Australia Test cricket team less than three weeks before the Ashes over a sexting exchange with a former colleague.

Paine had been expected to lead his side in the series against England which starts in Brisbane on December 8, but made the “incredibly difficult decision” to leave the role.

The wicketkeeper-batsman did not speak about the nature of the messages, but Cricket Australia’s (CA) news website referred to it as “revelations of a sexting incident involving a former Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017”.

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