On face value, condemning Tim Paine for un-captain-like behaviour appears to show strong leadership.

Except it doesn't.

It would have, had they done so when it occurred.

It would have, had they not welcomed back into a leadership position the previous displayer of un-captain-like behaviour.

The pivotal point in this unsavoury saga is that the offence which led to the latest Test captain resigning in tears actually pre-dates the offence which prompted his predecessor doing so.

And the offence in question was not only admitted, investigated and dealt with but breached no rules - something which can't be said of the offence which followed in Cape Town a few months later and led to the demise of Steve Smith.

Admittedly, it's a rather common name but this is the same Steve Smith who has now been reinstated as national vice-captain.

So a consensual and private (if stupid) act between two adults is grounds for losing national leadership but condoning a deliberate act of cheating involving two of the planet's major cricketing nations and their combined 85 million population is open to subsequent forgiveness and reinstatement.

For four years, Cricket Australia happily went about its business knowing that the national cupboard had a skeleton in it with one particular appendage overexposed.

Content to herald Paine as a figurehead of inspiration and integrity, it even allowed the embedding of a film crew to document an Ashes campaign.

In hindsight, maybe the title - The Test: A New Era for Australia's Team - referred to what the captain was undergoing rather than the team.

Only when Paine's sexting scandal threatened to become public did Cricket Australia become judgemental. Chairman Richard Freudenstein saw a bus coming and didn't delay in throwing his captain under it.

"What I can say is faced with the same circumstances and with the benefit of all the relevant information about this matter, Cricket Australia would not make the same decisions today," he said, clearly pointing a finger at predecessors.

An article on Cricket Australia's website stated that Freudenstein considered the case closed when he joined the board in 2019.

It added: "He was also fine with Paine continuing as a player ahead of the Ashes, but said the role of captain had to be held to a higher degree of accountability."

However, all this began to sound particularly hollow when Cricket Australia welcomed Smith back into a leadership role to assist Paine's replacement Pat Cummins.

On retaining Paine as captain in 2017, Freudenstein said: "I acknowledge the decision clearly sent the wrong message to the sport, to the community and to Tim: that this kind of behaviour is acceptable and without serious consequences."

But authorising a young player to rub sandpaper over a ball is forgivable apparently.

Both misdemeanours involved a form of cheating, one sporting, the other matrimonial. It is interesting to note that the player responsible for the cricketing offence will retain a leadership role when the Aussies next take the field.

Meanwhile, for those wondering, Cricket Australia is the same national body (albeit operating under its maiden name Australian Cricket Board) as the one which attempted to keep secret the regrettable John the Bookmaker saga.

With uncanny similarities, the incident occurred and was reported to the national body in 1994 but only exposed four years later - this time by the media with Malcolm Conn of The Australian earning himself a Walkley Award in the process.

The sweep may be a shot traditionally associated with the sub-continent, but Cricket Australia appears to rule the world when it comes to the under-the-carpet version.