Tim Paine Has The Support Of All The Players, Says Marcus Harris

Australian opener Marcus Harris said that Tim Paine has the backing of all of his teammates.

Recently, Paine stepped down from Australia’s Test captaincy role after his investigation with Cricket Australia was revealed in the public domain.

The Australian wicketkeeper-batter sent lewd text messages along with an unsolicited explicit image of himself to a female co-worker at Cricket Tasmania.

Tim Paine has done a really good job in the last few years: Marcus Harris

Harris, who has played all of his 10 Test matches under the leadership of Paine, said that he has the support of all players and also mentioned that he personally messaged him.

“I know he’s got the support of all the players. Probably everyone’s spoken to him personally. I sent him a message the other day and spoke to him a little bit. Obviously, Painey’s a very popular member of the group,” Harris told reporters.

“He’s done a really good job in the last few years, under tough circumstances. You’d probably still argue that he’s still the best gloveman in the country, and he still played some really important innings last summer against India,” he added.

We’ve got leaders around our group: Marcus Harris

Cricket Australia is yet to name a successor for Paine, but senior pace bowler Pat Cummins and swashbuckling batter Steve Smith remain the front-runners for the post.

Harris said Australia has many potential leaders in the team to take over the captaincy from Paine.

“People were a bit shocked, but we’ve got leaders around our group – so it’s not ideal, but someone’s going to have to step up and lead from the front and there’s plenty of people who can do that job,” Harris mentioned.

Australia will face England in the upcoming Ashes series at home with the first Ashes Test is just two weeks away and will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Australia haven’t played a single Test match since losing the Test series to India 1-2 at home in January.

Also Read: Tim Paine Is Going To Be Asked About Sexting Scandal Wherever He Goes, Says Ricky Ponting