Tim Paine takes leave of absence from all forms of cricket ahead of Ashes
The
36-year-old
stepped
down
from
his
role
as
Australia’s
Test
captain
last
week
over
an
historical
investigation
into
lewd
texts
sent
to
a
former
Cricket
Tasmania
colleague
in
2017.
Paine
received
the
full
backing
of
his
team-mates
and
was
still
in
Australia’s
Ashes
squad
to
face
England,
with
the
first
Test
scheduled
to
begin
on
December
8.
However,
Paine
has
pulled
out
of
Tasmania’s
one-day
match
against
Western
Australia
on
Friday
and
is
now
expected
to
be
out
of
contention
for
the
Ashes
series.
A
statement
released
by
Cricket
Tasmania
on
Friday
read:
“Following
discussions
over
the
last
24
hours,
Tim
Paine
has
advised
Cricket
Tasmania
that
he
will
be
taking
a
leave
of
absence
from
all
forms
of
cricket
for
the
foreseeable
future.
“Tim’s
decision
makes
him
unavailable
for
selection
for
today’s
Marsh
One-Day
Cup
match
against
Western
Australia.
His
place
in
the
squad
will
be
taken
by
Charlie
Wakim.
“Cricket
Tasmania
will
continue
to
support
Tim
and
his
family
both
professionally
and
personally
over
the
summer.”
.@crickettas
has
released
a
statement
regarding
Tim
Paine:https://t.co/ylkVP1KFXp—
TasmanianTigers
(@TasmanianTigers)
November
25,
2021
Paine’s
manager
James
Henderson
added
in
a
Twitter
post
that
he
is
worried
about
the
veteran
wicketkeeper’s
mental
state,
as
well
as
his
wife
Bonnie
after
details
of
the
scandal
became
public
a
week
ago.
“Confirming
that
@tdpaine36
is
stepping
away
from
cricket
for
an
indefinite
mental
health
break,”
Henderson
posted.
“We
are
extremely
concerned
for
his
and
Bonnie’s
well-being
and
will
be
making
no
further
comment
at
this
time.”
Paine
underwent
neck
surgery
in
September
before
returning
to
action
for
Tasmania’s
second
XI
against
South
Australia
earlier
this
week.
Pat
Cummins
and
Steve
Smith
have
reportedly
been
interviewed
by
Cricket
Australia
(CA)
amid
ongoing
speculation
the
pair
will
step
in
as
captain
and
vice-captain
respectively.
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