AUSTRALIAN coach Justin Langer has thrown his support behind embattled former captain Tim Paine, describing him as one of the best people in cricket.<\/p>\n
Paine resigned from the captaincy of the Australian Test team less than a month before a home Ashes series when sexual text messages between him and a former Cricket Tasmania employee were made public.<\/p>\n
Pat Cummins has since been appointed to the leadership position, with Steve Smith to be his vice-captain for the upcoming series.<\/p>\n
Paine took over in the wake of the sandpaper scandal in South Africa that threatened to tear apart Australian cricket, and alongside Langer, did an exemplary job in leading the team into a new era.<\/p>\n
Langer confirmed reports he had gone to visit Paine after exiting hotel quarantine in Queensland, describing the decision as a \u201cno-brainer\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of my really close friends and someone I admire enormously,\u201d Langer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best people I\u2019ve met in the game of cricket, as I said he\u2019s been our captain for a long time, he and I have been through a journey like we have with all this group.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best people I\u2019ve met in cricket, so it was nice to go down and see him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d have to ask how he\u2019s going, when I saw him, he was obviously shattered with what\u2019s happened because he\u2019s been such an exemplary figure in Australian cricket for the last four years particularly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis life has changed obviously\u2026 all I know is that it was important to go see him, we talk about looking after our boys, having each other\u2019s backs, it was a no-brainer for me to go see him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very sad about what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
A week after resigning, Paine dropped another bombshell when a statement revealed he would not be available for selection, and would consequently sit out the Ashes.<\/p>\n
Test debutant Alex Carey will take the gloves in his absence.<\/p>\n
Paine recently told the Herald Sun<\/em> in an interview that Langer had wanted the 37-year-old to remain in Australian cricket\u2019s top job, and although the coach refused to be drawn into specifics, he appeared to suggest Paine\u2019s sexting scandal had been overblown by the media.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a world of perfectionism, don\u2019t we?\u201d Langer said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a very judgemental society, and as I said in my very first press conference when I was asked about Steve Smith and David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, there\u2019s not one person who\u2019s asking questions here, who\u2019s on the camera there, who\u2019s listening to this or who\u2019s watching this that hasn\u2019t made a mistake in their life.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a single person, and our captain, one of our best, made a mistake and he\u2019s paying a heavy price for it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I see, I continually see in this job and I see it in the society we live in is it can be brutal, you learn your lessons but we live in an unforgiving society and that\u2019s a real shame.\u201d<\/p>\n At 36 years old, Paine’s national cricket career appears all but over, however Langer isn’t so sure.<\/p>\n \u201cHe loves cricket. He absolutely loves cricket,\u201d Langer said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he’s 37. He is as fit as any athlete, certainly in our squad. He looks after himself so well. He’s very focused, so who knows.<\/p>\n \u201cHis number one priority at the moment is family as you can imagine, and that’s how it should be.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m not sure we’ve seen the end of him. But we’ll wait and see. That’ll be his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Langer has faced his own critics on leadership in the past 12 months over his intense nature, however a public acceptance of his flaws seems to have rejuvenated the Australian outfit.<\/p>\n They recently won the 2021 T20 World Cup with Langer at the helm and will look to record another career-defining victory with a win in the five-Test Ashes series.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n