Tim Paine has stepped down as Australian Test captain after being embroiled in a lewd messaging scandal

Paine made the announcement at an emotional press conference in Hobart, during which he fought back tears while apologising to his family, teammates and the “other party”.

The Cricket Australia board must now decide on a new captain - regarded as a two-horse race between Pat Cummins and Steve Smith - before Australia take on England at the Gabba from December 8 in the first Ashes Test.

The 36-year-old wicketkeeper is being investigated by Cricket Australia for sending lewd messages to a female co-worker, including intimate images.

The Herald Sun reports that the messages were sent by Paine to a Cricket Tasmania employee ahead of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in 2017.

Some of the messages were sent the morning of the first Test, a match which marked his return to the Australian side.

In June 2018, the woman spoke with cricket authorities about the messages and labelled the content as “sexually explicit, unwelcome and unsolicited”.

Paine spoke to media from Blundstone Arena on Friday within an hour of the report going live on the Herald Sun website.

“I was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation throughout which I fully and openly participated,” Paine said.

“That investigation and a Cricket Tasmania HR investigation at the same time found there had been no breach of the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct.

“Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at the time and still do today.

“I spoke to my wife and family at the time and am enormously grateful for their forgiveness and support.

“We thought this incident was behind us and that I could focus entirely on the team.

“However, I recently became aware that this private text exchange was going to become public.

“On reflection, my actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain or the wider community.

“I‘m deeply sorry for the hurt and the pain I’ve caused to my wife, my family and to the other party.

“I‘m sorry for any damage that this does to the reputation of our sport and I believe it is the right decision for me to stand down as captain, effective immediately.

“I do not want this to become an unwelcome disruption to the team ahead of what is a huge Ashes series.

“I‘ve loved my role as captain of the Australian cricket team. It’s been the greatest privilege of my sporting life to lead the Australian men’s Test team.

“I‘m grateful for the support of my teammates and proud of what we’ve been able to achieve together.

“To them, I ask of their understanding and forgiveness.

“To Australian cricket fans, I am deeply sorry that my past behaviour has impacted our game on the eve of the Ashes.

“For the disappointment I have caused to fans and the entire cricket community, I apologise.

“I‘ve been blessed with a wonderful, loving and supportive family and it breaks my heart to know how much I’ve let them down

“They always stood by me, been my most loyal fans and I am indebted to them for their support.

“I remain a committed member of the Australian cricket team.”

The timing could scarcely be worse for Australian cricket with an Ashes series just 19 days away and the country still basking in Australia’s T20 World Cup victory in the UAE.

Paine assumed the Test captaincy after the Newlands ball tampering scandal in 2018 and had been widely credited with improving the culture within the Australian men’s Test team.

He will now hand the role back with the team once more embroiled in controversy and the new captain forced into an uncomfortable situation on the eve of a huge Test series against England.

Cricket Australia issued a statement accepting Paine’s resignation.

“Tim felt it was in the best interests of his family and Australian cricket to take this decision to step down as captain,” said Cricket Australia chair Richard Freudenstein.

“The Board has accepted Tim’s resignation and will now work through a process with the National Selection Panel of identifying and appointing a new captain.

“While the Board acknowledges an investigation cleared Tim of any breach of the code of conduct regarding this matter some years ago, we respect his decision.

“CA does not condone this type of language or behaviour.

“Despite the mistake he made, Tim has been an exceptional leader since his appointment and the Board thanks him for his distinguished service.

“Tim will continue to be available for selection in the Test team through the Ashes summer.”

The captaincy race is expected to be contested between Cummins and Smith, the latter of whom relinquished the role in the wake of the Cape Town ball tampering scandal.

Both lay strong claims to the role: Cummins in his capacity as the team’s current vice-captain and Smith as someone who has extensive captaincy experience.

Paine, for now, is expected to retain his wicketkeeping role within the team. Should that situation change, the likes of Alex Carey, Josh Inglis and Jimmy Peirson would be among the contenders to take the gloves.

Cricket Tasmania also released a statement, which said a formal charge of theft had been laid against the complainant.

“The allegations raised against Tim Paine by a former Cricket Tasmania employee were only brought to the attention of Cricket Tasmania when formal charges of theft were laid against that employee in mid 2018,” the statement read.

“Cricket Tasmania Chairman, Andrew Gaggin, said there was no complaint raised at the time of the incident in November 2017, nor when the employee’s position with the organisation was terminated.”

Gaggin went on to emphasise that Cricket Tasmania did not condone the behaviour of Tim Paine but determined that the actions were consensual at the time.

“As soon as Cricket Tasmania was made aware, it undertook an investigation that determined the interaction was consensual, private, occurred on the one occasion only, was between mature adults and was not repeated,” Gaggin said.

“Cricket Tasmania clearly does not condone this type of behaviour and addressed the matter directly with Tim Paine.

“However, because of the consensual nature of the actions it was determined that no further action was required or appropriate.”