Former captain Tim Paine savages Cricket Australia over sexting scandal sacking

Disgraced former Aussie captain Tim Paine has launched an extraordinary attack at Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley for using a PR firm to effectively fire him as skipper.

In his recently released autobiography ‘The Price Paid’, the 37-year-old breaks his silence about the sexting scandal that led to his passing as Australian Test Captain.

The married father of two sent a series of sexually suggestive messages, including a photo of his genitals, to Cricket Tasmania colleague Renee Ferguson in 2017, but the “sexts” resurfaced in November 2021, forcing Paine into a tearful dismissal conference that month.

He said he felt ‘hanging out’ by Hockley and Cricket Australia in the wake of the reports coming out publicly, and revealed that the effective decision to fire him came from a public relations firm.

Paine rejected the treatment he received from Cricket Australia and CEO Nick Hockley (pictured) when details of sexually suggestive texts between him and a colleague became public in November 2021

During a phone call with the CEO, Paine wrote that an unnamed public relations manager was taking charge, insisting that the best way forward was for the wicketkeeper to step down as captain.

“We made a phone call to this individual they hired from a public relations firm that had apparently given advice to the board in the past,” he wrote, referring to the conference that took place a day before the sexting scandal went public.

“He said he had been in the newspaper game for many years and it was going to be huge and not go away.

“I thought it was very odd that this person, someone I’d never met and someone who didn’t work at Cricket Australia, took the lead in the conversation while Nick, the chief executive, sat in the background.

“The adviser then said the best way to get ahead of things was for me to retire as captain. I was amazed at that,” Paine wrote.

Then-Australian captain Tim Paine with the Ashes trophy after beating England in 2019

Cricket Australia learned of the sexually suggestive lyrics, which went back and forth for about a year, seven months in 2018 after Ferguson, along with Cricket Tasmania and the Australian Human Rights Commission, sent a letter to the organization.

Paine, who claims the messages were consensual, was cleared of wrongdoing by both cricket clubs in subsequent investigations – and continues to demand that the findings be made public.

The skipper told Hockley that he had been acquitted and that the indiscretions were a personal matter – but they clearly had no choice but to take a stand, something Paine wrote made him the proverbial sacrificial lamb.

Tim and Bonnie Paine have stayed strong despite the sexting scandal that threatened to ruin their relationship

“It became clear what Cricket Australia wanted me to do, but they didn’t have the courage to say it themselves, they let their hired consultant run the show,” Paine wrote.

“I felt they were driven by the need to protect their image… they hung me to dry.

“I was willing to endure the flak for what I did, but in my mind Cricket Australia had let me down and it seemed like they thought I had sexually harassed someone,” Paine wrote in the book.

Paine drafted a letter of resignation the next morning, something he said he only wrote because he felt he “had a gun to his head,” and later appeared before the media at a tearful press conference in his hometown, Hobart.

Tim Paine announced his resignation as Australian captain during a tearful press conference on November 19, 2021, in which he apologized for the pain he had caused.

At the time, the married man said he was “deeply sorry for the pain and pain” he inflicted on his wife (Bonnie), family and the “other party” (Ferguson), saying he and his wife stayed together and have been since. had moved past the “sexting” controversy.

Paine has been married to his wife Bonnie since 2016 and the couple have two children together: Milla and Charlie.

The day after announcing his resignation, Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein told media that the current board would not have approved him as captain after the investigation.

It’s something that clearly irritates Paine.

Tim Paine, pictured with son Charlie and wife Bonnie by his side, is unimpressed with the way he was treated by Cricket Australia

“The only thing that touched me later was when Cricket Australia said they would have handled it differently than in 2017,” he wrote.

“The reality was that they were happy to defend me and accepted that I hadn’t violated their code of conduct as long as it was kept private.

“If the story hadn’t gone through I would still be captain and if Cricket Australia had handled it the way they said I would play I would still be playing for Australia,” Paine wrote.

It was an explosive couple of years for men’s cricket in Australia.

Previously thought cleanskin Paine was pushed into the captaincy after Steve Smith was stripped of the role following the infamous balls scandal in March 2018.

Paine, pictured captaining Australia against India in January 2021, resigned 10 months later – then had an extended break from cricket

The side had been under fire for their arrogant and at times unsportsmanlike play, and Paine was seen as the angelic face who could reverse the team’s deteriorating perception.

Instead, the sport became immersed in further controversy, something that is only now turning around with the speedy Pat Cummins at the helm.

Despite the explosive accusations and complaints about Cricket Australia, Paine insists he doesn’t want sympathy from anyone, writing that he “fell apart” after the scandal.

Tim and Bonnie Paine, pictured enjoying Wineglass Bay in their native Tasmania, remain together to this day

He revealed that he sought professional help for his mental health and that he was so ashamed of what he had done to his glamorous wife Bonnie, his two children and family.

‘I couldn’t control my thoughts, it was shocking. No matter how many times I tried to pull myself together, my mind just fell apart,” Paine wrote.

‘I had terrible thoughts at that time. As if maybe it would be easier for people if I wasn’t there.’

Paine, a multi-talented athlete who was on track to play AFL footy as a youngster, was known throughout his long career as one of the strongest cricketers in Australia.

Tim Paine draws a ball for four as he represents Tasmania in the team’s recent loss to Queensland on October 8

So it’s only fitting that his self-punishment took the form of long, grueling runs, which caused him to lose quite a bit of weight.

He took a long break from cricket after stepping down as captain but has since returned to the field for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield.

It has been a solid return for the reckless batter and wicketkeeper, with 37 runs from his three innings so far this season and 11 catches behind the stumps.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cricket Australia for comment.

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