Troubled and in tears, Tim Painn resigned as captain of Australia's Test cricket team on Friday after the revelations sparked an investigation into sexually explicit text messages sent to a female colleague four years ago. ۔


The scandal disrupted Australia's Ashes preparations three weeks before the start of the first Test in Brisbane and put the 36-year-old wicketkeeper's international career in jeopardy.


Reading a statement, Pain admitted that he had been questioned by the game's National Integrity Unit about messages sent to a former Cricket Tasmania staffer in 2017, just months before he took over as captain.


Although cleared of wrongdoing, the husband and father of three said that, in hindsight, his actions did not meet the standards of the Australian cricket captain or the wider community.


"I am deeply saddened by the pain and suffering I have inflicted on my wife, my family and others," Penn told reporters in Hobart.


"I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused to our game and I am confident that resigning as captain is the right decision for me, with immediate effect."


Australia's last two captains have now expired due to scandal, with Penn replacing Steve Smith in the 2018 New Zealand ball tampering scandal.


Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper reported an exchange of alleged text messages between Pain and the woman, saying she had complained that she had sent an unwanted photo of her genitals.


"Would you like to taste me? ?? Fuck me, I'm seriously hard," the paper said, referring to Pan in a text.


Cricket officials rallied around Pain , revealing that the woman had resigned after being accused of theft after resigning from her job.


Cricket Tasmania said Penn's "relationship" with the woman was "accidental, private, only one occasion; and was not repeated," Cricket Tasmania said.


However, his apology in an earlier investigation, and Cricket Tasmania's description of the case as "among adults", may not be enough to save him.


The investigation has been buried for almost four years and may have continued indefinitely if the Herald Sun had not reported the offensive details immediately before his Mai Kalpa.


"We thought the incident was behind us and I could totally focus on the team, as I've done for the last three or four years," said Penn, who married his wife Bonnie in 2016. ۔


"However, I recently learned that this private text exchange is about to go public."


Pain said he is still available for selection but cricket pundits have not seen how he can stay in the team, his presence is likely to cause a lot of trouble before and during the Ashes.


Local cricket fans have traditionally said that captaining a Test team is the country's "second highest office" after the prime minister.


"This man is married to children, he's the captain of the Australian cricket team," Sydney resident Craig German told Reuters.


"I mean, it's just scary, scary what he's doing and what's going on."


When Penn took over the captaincy in 2018, he was considered a clean skin in tainted clothes.


He wore a brave face as Australia struggled on the field and was praised for bringing about cultural change in a team that is often ridiculed for its aggressive behavior on the field.


About 18 months after his captaincy, he was declared a national hero as Australia retained the Ashes in England for the first time in almost 20 years.


Pain's leadership lost some of its luster as Australia beat India 2-1 at home last summer. But there was still a chance to salvage that defeat against England in the Ashes.


He resigned as captain after 23 Tests with 11 wins, eight losses and four draws.


Vice-captain Pat Cummins is expected to take over the captaincy, making him the only other expert fast bowler in the role since Ray Lindwall led a Test against India in the mid-1950s.


The place of the pan in the dressing room, however, is on a very shaky ground.