Tim Paine sexting scandal deepens as it is claimed brother-in-law sent lewd messages to the same woman

The ‘sexting’ scandal that has rocked Australian cricket took another extraordinary turn after it was alleged that Tim Paine’s brother-in-law sent lewd messages, including an “unwelcome and unsolicited” picture of his genitalia, to the same woman.

With the start of the Ashes less than three weeks away, fresh revelations and claims have appeared in the Australian media, including the allegation that Shannon Tubb left his coaching position at Cricket Tasmania in 2018 following an investigation into his conduct.

It follows the revelations in Friday’s Herald Sun that exposed Paine’s exchanges with the same woman and triggered his resignation as Australia's Test cricket captain. Shane Warne has since tipped Josh Inglis, who was born in Leeds and played this summer for Leicestershire, to replace Paine in the squad.

New allegations of sexual harassment have now emerged about Tubb, who is married to Paine’s sister. The alleged messages, which have been published by the Herald Sun, contain various lurid and sexually explicit comments and include an “unwelcome and unsolicited... picture of his penis” to the woman in late 2017 on Snapchat.

He had allegedly encouraged the female employee to use Snapchat, a phone application that allows users to send and receive photographs, videos and messages, with the content disappearing after the receiver has opened it. The messages can be kept if the recipient takes a screenshot.

It was reported that the woman first reported alleged sexual harassment by Tubb to her manager in mid-2017. When asked about the allegation, Tubb reportedly told the Herald Sun: “There’s no comment on that at all mate, I’m sorry.”

The Herald Sun said that it sent questions to Cricket Tasmania on Thursday regarding Tubb’s exchanges and that further questions were then sent on Sunday morning. In a written statement, a spokesman replied: “Cricket Tasmania won’t be responding to any of your questions above.”

Asked whether they had been told about the investigation into Tubb and its outcome, a Cricket Australia spokesman said: “The information was included as part of Cricket Australia’s integrity investigation. These were separate investigations by Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania.”

Paine resigned as Australia’s test captain less than an hour after the Herald Sun revealed messages that were sent to the woman in November 2017 at a time when his wife, Bonnie, had recently given birth to their first child.

Paine admitted that there was “no excuse” for his behaviour, which he suggested was down to stupidity or an inflated ego. He is adamant that there was never any physical element to his relationship with the woman.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in Australia, he said: “Although Bonnie and I have both known about all this for three years, to have it played out like this is really distressing, and upsetting, and I’m really embarrassed. I feel sick for Bonnie, and for my family more than anything else.”

His wife, Bonnie, added: “He and I went through all of this privately in 2018. It was horrific then... and is really hard. I have had my time of getting angry, and venting, and to get upset, and we fought and we talked, and then we both decided to move on with life, and do it together.

“Relationships are bloody hard. Whether it’s with your family, with your sister, your husband, your partner, you make mistakes. It’s hard enough to have that happen privately in your relationship, inside your own four walls, just the two of you, but it’s harder when everyone has an opinion, and everyone wants to know about your personal life.”

Cricket Australia cleared Paine of any wrongdoing in 2018 but supported his decision to resign on Friday ahead of the series against England.