Former Australian Test skipper Tim Paine was a year ago allegedly accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the form of text messages, also commonly known as 'sexting'. It compelled him to step down as the skipper for the side in the longest format and was replaced by pacer Pat Cummins. Later, the victim announced her bid to lodge a sexual harassment claim against him and Cricket Tasmania (CT) over the entire issue. However, the court has decided to turn down her request. It also rejected her explanation for the delay in filing the case. The woman also happened to be a former employer of CT, who goes by the name Renee Ferguson.

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The 47-year-old Ferguson had missed her deadline to file the case by nearly three years, while she had sought an extension of time in the Federal Court, reports Reuters. While she worked as a receptionist at CT, she was allegedly harassed by Paine and other employees in 2015-16. Meanwhile, Paine denied any wrongdoing and also underwent an investigation by Cricket Australia's (CA's) integrity unit in 2018 before being cleared.

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While CT and its employees denied Ferguson's allegations, she filed the complaint of sexual harassment in 2018 to the Australian Human Rights Commission before it was terminated the same year. While she had time until January 2019 to file her case, she did not do it before November 2021.

Ferguson explained the reason for her delay in filing the case: "deterioration in her mental and physical health as well as her economic stability". However, Justice Mordy Bromberg felt that the explanation was unreasonable and said, "I am not satisfied that it is in the interests of the administration of justice to permit Ms Ferguson to make her very late application."

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"Conscious of the significant media attention which has been given to this proceeding, I seek to emphasise that my decision is not a vindication of either Ms Ferguson or TCA's [Cricket Tasmania] version of events," added Bromberg. While it led to Paine quitting Test leadership and taking a break from the sport, Ferguson was instead accused of stealing money from CT and will attend a hearing on the matter in February.

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