Cricket Tasmania says it only became aware of a sexting scandal involving former Test skipper Tim Paine and a one-time employee of the organisation when police charges were levelled against the woman.

Paine sensationally stepped down from his position on Friday, less than three weeks out from the start of the Ashes series against England.

He said he was involved in a text exchange with a female employee of Cricket Tasmania in late 2017 and was subsequently cleared of a code of conduct breach. 

In a statement, Cricket Tasmania said the sexting allegations were only brought to the attention of the organisation when formal charges of theft were laid against the employee in mid-2018.

Chairman, Andrew Gaggin, said there was no complaint raised at the time of the incident in November 2017, nor when the employee’s position with the organisation was terminated.

“As soon as Cricket Tasmania was made aware, it undertook an investigation that determined the interaction was consensual, private, occurred on the one occasion only, was between mature adults and was not repeated,” he said.

“Cricket Tasmania clearly does not condone this type of behaviour and addressed the matter directly with Tim Paine.

“However, because of the consensual nature of the actions it was determined that no further action was required or appropriate.”

Gaggin said Cricket Tasmania were unable to comment further as the former employee was still before the courts.

Paine, who remains part of Australia’s Test squad, said he was recently made aware the text exchange would become public.

The 36-year-old said he was the subject of a thorough Cricket Australia integrity unit investigation at the time, one he fully participated in.

At an emotional press conference in his home town Hobart on Friday, Paine apologised to his wife, family and the former employee.

Paine became Test captain in March 2018 after Steve Smith lost the role following the sandpaper ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

AAP

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