Tim Paine’s Australian teammates are reportedly unhappy at the way Cricket Australia has dealt with the crisis surrounding the former Test captain.
Paine resigned on Friday amidst a sexting scandal, despite having been cleared by an investigation in 2018.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that players feel they are not adequately supported by CA in times of trouble.
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That was evident on the weekend, when CA chairman Richard Freudenstein said the current board would have sacked Paine had they been in charge in 2018.
Herald cricket writer Andrew Wu told Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham that the players have had enough.
“They feel as if it’s a trial by media, that Cricket Australia is responding to the public backlash,” he said.
“(CA) saying on the weekend that if the circumstances had arisen again they’d have made a different decision.
“They (the players) just feel like they get let down by Cricket Australia.
“Whenever times get a little bit tough they feel like the board don’t stand by them.”
According to the Herald, the Paine saga is the latest in a string of incidents where the players feel let down by head office, notably dissatisfaction over the way CA addressed concerns surrounding coach Justin Langer, refusal to consider softening the ball-tampering bans handed down to Steve Smith and David Warner, and the ugly 2017 pay dispute.
CA is fighting fires on a number of fronts at the moment, with Cricket Tasmania launching an extraordinary attack on the governing body over Paine’s sacking.
“At a time when CA should have supported Tim, he was evidently regarded as dispensable. The treatment afforded to the Australian Test captain by Cricket Australia has been appalling, and the worst since Bill Lawry over 50 years ago,” CT chairman Andrew Gaggin said.
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