"I guess over the next 24-48 hours we’ll know more about it" - Travis Head on Tim Paine's resignation as Australia's Test captain
Australian middle-order batsman Travis Head has reacted to Tim Paine's resignation following an off-field controversy. Travis Head stated the team is yet to know the inside details of the scandal and expects to shortly.
Tim Paine stepped down from the captaincy position in an emotional press conference on Friday. Cricket Australia unveiled some scandalous and explicit texts dating back to 2017 regarding the former Aussie capain. Although the keeper-batsman quit as captain, he has declared his availability as a player.
Tim Paine explains why he's stepping down as Australian Test captain. https://t.co/0tLFhmmKie
Travis Head, selected in the 15-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests, addressed questions about Paine's withdrawal as skipper. He said he hasn't spoken to any of the teammates about it. Head said, as quoted by news.com.au:
"It’s a tough one at the moment to go into any of that because I don’t know the ins and outs, I haven’t spoken to Tim or the boys, I guess over the next 24-48 hours we’ll know more about it. I think the group’s in a great space, a lot like the World Cup-winning T20 group, this group’s played a lot of series together, we’re in a great space, everyone gets along really well, so what will be over the next 24-to-48 hours will be and we’ll move on."
Paine's position as leader was under scrutiny following a second consecutive series defeat to India at home this year. Hence, the Ashes series of 2021-22 was likely his swansong in international cricket.
Travis Head backs the team to rise from this controversy
Head conceded that the current status of the fiasco remains unclear, but he acknowledged that everyone has each other's backs. The South Australian added:
"It’s hard to comment on what’s going on at the moment, but as a whole, with the culture and where the team’s at, what you see with the T20 squad I think is very similar to the Test squad, so I think Australian cricket as a whole with the guys we’ve got in, we’ve got good people and we’re fully behind everyone."
With Paine resigning a few weeks before the Ashes, Australia will have a new leader at the helm. Pat Cummins, who revealed his intention to step up as leader, remains the frontrunner. Steve Smith, who was ousted in 2018 after the ball-tampering saga, also stands a chance.