“I provided a full copy of the text conversation with Tim Paine, including the pictures that were sent,” he said. “I indicated that it was her intention to keep the matter private and that she was seeking an apology from Cricket Tasmania and her legal fees reimbursed. I was subsequently contacted by Christine Harman at CA, advising that no mediation would take place. That was my last discussion with CA.”

The emails also mentioned the possibility of the story being taken to media outlets, but the staffer eventually decided not to go through with that plan.

“I advised that her only remaining course of action through me was to take the matter to the media,” Mulcahy said. “I told her that given the impending Ashes series, the severe fallout from the South Africa incident and subsequent sacking of then captain Steve Smith, that she could possibly command a large fee for her story. Her ultimate decision was to let the matter go and move on.

“It was always my understanding that she never wanted this matter to become public. She turned down the possibility of a big pay day to tell the story, yet she chose to stay quiet. I don’t believe she is the source of this story now being made public.”

The former staffer is currently in court facing charges of theft related to her time at Cricket Tasmania, allegations that she denies.

Shannon Tubb, another Cricket Tasmania employee and Paine’s brother-in-law, who the female staffer also complained of being sexually harassed by, had his contract terminated in a confidential agreement with the state association also in 2018.

Paine, in a shared interview with his wife Bonnie in the Sunday Herald Sun, said that he always had a feeling that the fact of the text exchanges and explicit image would get out into the public arena eventually.