Marcus Harris said Australia was “shocked” by the Payne scandal, but supported his ashes

Batsman Marcus Harris said that Australian cricketers were shocked to learn that Tim Payne had resigned as captain due to the “sexy texting” scandal, but they fully supported him as a goalkeeper for the Ashes.

The opener Harris said the players only learned of Payne half an hour before he was under investigation on Friday after he publicly stated that he was under investigation for an indecent text message sent to a women’s cricket Tasmanian team four years ago. decision.

“People are obviously a bit shocked, but there are a lot of good leaders around our team,” Harris told reporters on Wednesday.

“So this is not ideal, but someone must step up and lead from the front.

“Penny will still be there and can still demonstrate leadership in many different ways, but we look forward to entering the training camp and moving on.”

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Cricket Tasmania condemns “horrifying” treatment of Paine

Paine played a domestic game in Tasmania this week, while the other test players were on the Gold Coast. He is the only professional goalkeeper on the 15-man Ashes in Australia.

However, the chairman of the selector, George Bailey, has confirmed that he has not locked up the first test that started in Brisbane on December 8, while he played after neck surgery to prove his health.

Harris said Paine is very popular in the team and has done “very well” in the difficult environment of the past few years and should maintain his position.

“I think you might still argue that he is still the best glove in this country. He still played several important games against India last summer,” he said.

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“I know he has all the support of the players, like I said, everything else depends on the person above me.”

Paine’s resignation and Cricket Australia’s handling of the pornography scandal triggered mutual accusations. Cricket Tasmania accused the state agency of hanging the goalkeeper and cleared him of any misconduct in 2018.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday that players were also dissatisfied with the Australian cricket team’s treatment of Paine, but Harris said he was not aware of any differences.