Tim Paine: Will the Ashes be consumed by off-field scandal?

You thought that England had all the problems.

As Azeem Rafiq's allegations shone a spotlight on the England dressing room, it seemed as if Joe Root's outfit would be the only side going into the Ashes with serious and far-reaching off-field questions to answer.

The biggest scandal since their last one has arisen from Tim Paine's resignation as Test captain over a historical investigation into sexually explicit texts to a female colleague.

There is a chance that the Ashes will be dominated by events away from the middle because of the differences in nature and scale of the two crises.

The ball-tampering fiasco resulted in the removal of Steve Smith, who was banned along with David Warner and CAMERON BEACON.

The texts that were sent around the time that Tim Paine was recalled to the Australia side in the year that he became captain were not in the public eye.

Even though the investigation cleared the cricketer of any wrongdoing, he still resigned in tears after learning the texts would be made public.

There is some doubt over whether he will play in the first Test against England in December, even though he still wants to be a part of the Australia team.

It's not a big deal, but it seems to be an error from Cricket Australia to have a man who had to step down as their leader after the ball-tampering scandal.

Australia had to improve their behavior according to an accidental captain.

In the Amazon documentary The Test, it is stated that it was Paine who restored their machismo. During the India series, he was caught sledging India players on stump microphones, and he also went eye-to-eye with India's leader.

When India returned to Australia last year, they handed the Aussies their first Test defeat in 27 years.

He was able to arrest an 18-year losing run in away series, drawing the series in England in 2-2.

However, that also included a defeat from an almost impregnable position at Headingley, for which Tim Paine's tactics were questioned in front of the rest of the squad, in another exchange captured by The Test.

The uncertainty some England players had over travelling to Australia was vocalized by Paine.

He told his own radio show that the series is going ahead regardless of who is in charge.

Even if his average of almost 32 since being recalled four years ago compares pretty well with other keepers in the same period, his record bat with the bat still hung around his neck.

From a purely cricketing perspective, the resignation of Tim Paine could lead to a stronger Australian side, with either Alex Carey or Josh Inglis replacing him.

If England are relieved that the heat is being shared by the Australians, the schadenfreude would be wrong.

The England team has yet to respond to Rafiq's allegation that Gary Ballance used the term 'Kevin' to describe a person of colour.

Ballance played for England alongside captain Root. At some point, it will have to be addressed if any of the eight knew of the term and were involved in its use.

The controversy surrounding the opposing teams raises the possibility of a series of events that will make headlines.

Four years ago, England's last tour down under was remembered for Ben Duckett pouring a drink over James Anderson, the 'headbutt' from Jonny Bairstow, and the altercation between Ben and James.

Cricket's oldest rivals are finding they need to clean up their act and are united by history. England's cricketing culture has been called into question.

Professional sport is still lagging behind the rest of society despite being exposed 10,000 miles apart.

There is a cult of the dressing room and what goes on in it stays in the dressing room.

These places of work are also places of work so must strive to uphold the standards expected of the rest of us. It is an extra responsibility to represent a country and all of the people in it.

There are 19 days left until the start of the Ashes. What more could these two sides do in that time?

He said that the Ashes are going ahead, even if Tim is not there.