Australia has appointed fast bowler Pat Cummins as their new Test cricket captain to replace Tim Paine who quit just two weeks before the start of the Ashes series against England over an explicit text message he sent to a female co-worker in 2017 but came to light only this month.
“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,” Cricket Tasmania said in a statement.
Paine, who played in 35 Tests scoring 1534 runs, had earlier suggested he wanted to be part of the Ashes series for which he received the support of his team-mates.
Pat Cummins and Steve Smith were strongly tipped as candidates to replace Paine in the captaincy but the dice went in favour of the 28-year old Cummins who has played in 34 Tests taking 164 wickets.
Smith was replaced by Paine as captain in 2018 after the ball-tampering controversy against South Africa and he will now be Cummins’ deputy.
The first Ashes Test between Australia and England starts in Brisbane on December 8.