Cricket Australia backs Tim Paine's return to Test team: 'Want to see him back out there'

The national cricket governing body of Australia, Cricket Australia (CA) has backed its handling of former skipper Tim Paine’s demotion after his private chats with a former Cricket Tasmania employee went public and are also expecting his return to the Test team. Tim Paine tearfully resigned as the Test skipper of Australia earlier last month, just three weeks ahead of the Ashes 2021-22 series. He was initially touted to play the Ashes 2021-22 opener at the Gabba in Brisbane this week, however, the wicketkeeper opted to take an indefinite mental-health break, which saw the rise in concerns, if he will ever play for Australia again. 

Meanwhile, during a conversation with SEN, as reported by 7news.com.au, CA chief executive Nick Hockley opined his views on the Tim Paine’s return to the Australian squad in the future and said, “Would love to see him play again, for both his state and for Australia. We want to see him back out there, playing and performing, as quickly as possible”. At the same time, the chief executive also mentioned that the head coach of Australia, Justin Langer went to see Paine and CA members along with the Tasmania cricket community have been supportive of the cricketer. 

Nick Hockley backs Cricket Australia's handling of the controversy

Backing the cricket governing body on its handling of the controversy, Hockley added, “We are all very, very concerned - to make sure that Tim is well supported. A lot of respect for Tim for owning his mistake, and our job now is to really support him”. He further went on to add that although Paine made his own decision to step down from the captaincy role, the board felt his decision was appropriate.

CA knew about the Tim Paine texting scandal since 2018

CA earlier faced heavy criticism following Paine’s resignation as people felt the board could have backed him, given that he was found to have broken no code of conduct during an investigation on the texting scandal in 2018. Paine was involved in a private and explicit text exchange with a former female employee of Cricket Tasmania in 2017. The matter came to CA’s notice in 2018, who backed Paine to continue playing and leading the Test squad in a desperate attempt to restore the team’s image following the sand-paper gate in 2018, which saw the suspension of then skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.

Image: AP