Former Australia Test cricket captain Tim Paine is set to miss the first Ashes Test and is taking an indefinite mental health break from the game. The news comes a week after Paine tearfully quit as captain after revelations of a scandal involving the sending of inappropriate texts to a female co-worker in 2017.

Cricket Australia said on Friday that Paine advised them he would be "stepping away from cricket for a period of time." "We recognise that this is an incredibly difficult time for Tim and his family and are committed to supporting them," Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement.