‘Appointing Tim Paine as skipper was a wrong decision’ : CA chairman Richard Freudenstein
Tim Paine (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein has admitted that they made a mistake by appointing Tim Paine as Australia skipper. Paine recently announced his decision to quit Test captaincy after his string of lewd messages to a female co-worker in 2018 went viral. Paine succeeded Steve Smith, who was banned from international cricket, following his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Freudenstein said if the facts were checked back then, they would not have appointed Paine as the leader. “I can’t talk about the 2018 decision, I wasn’t there. But I am saying based on the facts as they are today the board of Cricket Australia would not have made that decision,” Freudenstein said in a joint press conference with CA CEO Nick Hockley.
The captain is a flag bearer of the team and a bad act done by him tarnish the image of the entire team. “I acknowledge the decision clearly sent the wrong message that this behavior is acceptable and without serious consequences. The role of Australian cricket captain must be held to the highest standards,” he added.
He further revealed that CA has modified its code of conduct and players have been notified to stay away from such acts. “The code of conduct is (now) appropriate, it’s important to note a lot of things have changed since the time,” Freudenstein said. “There’s programs in place that address things like sexting since the 2018 season. We have undertaken a full review of the sexual harassment education.”
Meanwhile, Tim Paine has admitted his mistake and has apologised to the team and the cricket fraternity.
