Tim Paine says he always knew explicit messages would come out at some point after quitting Test captaincy

Tim Paine, who quit as Australia captain over the sexting scandal, said he never thought the 'consensual' exchange of messages with a former female colleague would become an issue. Paine, however, expects to play a key role in Ashes 2021-22.

Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has said he knew the explicit messages he had sent to a female colleague at Cricket Tasmania in 2017 would always come out while explaining his decision to quit as captain in the lead up to the much-anticipated Ashes Test series in Australia.

Tim Paine was cleared of any misconduct after a Cricket Australia investigation into the issue following a complaint by the female colleague in 2018. Paine took over as Australia's Test captain in the same year following the Sandpaper Gate row in which Steve Smith lost his captaincy.