Justin Langer Was Pretty Firm That He Wanted Me To Continue - Tim Paine

Tim Paine revealed that Australian head coach, Justin Langer, wanted him to continue as the captain of the Test side following the scandal that broke out on Friday. Ahead of the Ashes 2021-22, Paine resigned as the skipper over a string of lewd text messages and a picture that he exchanged with a Cricket Tasmania staffer in 2017.

Paine had made up his mind after deliberating over the issue, but Langer was quite devastated about it and expressed his desire to see Paine continue as the captain. In an interview with Sunday Herald Sun, Paine said:

“It was mine and mine alone. It was hard, but I know it’s the right thing to do. I feel completely gutted, but it’s all my doing, and I know resigning is the right call. JL (Justin Langer) told me he’s devastated.”

“He was pretty firm that he wanted me to continue as captain, and again, once I explained to him the reasons that I thought resigning was the best thing to do, he was with me all the way. I’ve got messages from all my teammates saying they’ve got my back, and that we all make mistakes, and we move on.”

“It’ll be a life of regret that it did happen” – Tim Paine

The incident occurred in 2017, and the matter was investigated in the following year. Tim Paine was exonerated after Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia (CA) conducted an investigation. However, the matter surfaced once again in an unfortunate manner, and Paine said that he will continue to regret it for the rest of his life.

“Maybe it’s as simple as stupidity? Or an inflated ego? Or feeling needed or wanted, being flattering. Or that it was dangerous or risque? I don’t know. I’m not sure. But I know I wish I hadn’t, and it’ll be a life of regret that I did.”

“I feel terrible, to be honest. Although Bonnie and I have both known about all this for three years, to have it played out like this is really distressing, and upsetting, and I’m really embarrassed. I feel sick for Bonnie, and for my family more than anything else,” Paine added.

For now, the Aussies need to find themselves a new skipper, with the Ashes being less than a month away.

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