Picture Credit: Cricket Australia
Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has not been offered a state contract by Cricket Tasmania. Following the sexting scandal, Paine took an indefinite mental health break and stepped down as Test skipper on the eve of Ashes. A Cricket Tasmania spokesperson on Thursday informed that Paine was not offered the contract as he is still on mental health leave.
Notably, Paine was allegedly accused by a former Cricket Tasmania receptionist of sending sexually explicit messages to her four years ago, but the former skipper claimed they were consensual. However, Paine was later cleared by an internal investigation in 2018 which was revealed to the public last year.
In a separate case, Ferguson has been allegedly accused of stealing money from Cricket Tasmania, and her case is before a Hobart court. Although, she has refuted all the allegations. The wicket-keeper batter played 35 Tests and 147-First-Class matches in his career. He led the side in 23 Tests as captain and played 35 ODIs and 12 T20Is, scoring one hundred in an ODI against England in 2009.
He is widely credited for rebuilding Australian cricket in the aftermath of Sandpaper-gate in 2018, which led to the suspension of Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith over the ball-tampering scandal. While Paine was reportedly never a first-choice option for leading the side, his incredible performance during Ashes in 2017/18 impressed the selectors who later trusted him for the captaincy role.
After Smith was banned for two years, Paine was given the responsibility to lead the side. Tasmania's new head coach Jeff Vaughan was earlier quoted as saying, "Tim has been a leader in this program, and I wish him all the best for his future. I think he has got coaching credentials, a coaching skill set."