Former Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur has turned Australia’s Ashes campaign upside down by revealing infighting between captain Michael Clarke and Shane Watson, labelling the former vice-captain as a cancer.
Suing Cricket Australia for $4 million over his dismal last month, Arthur is also claiming to have been the victim of racial discrimination according to documents acquired by Channel Seven.
Included in the documents are accounts of infighting between captain Michael Clarke and Watson.
Arthur apparently said that Clarke supported the move to instill further discipline within the Australian side while Watson did not. The former coach also alleges it was Watson that told him of the bar room altercation between dumped batsman David Warner and English player Joe Root during the team’s lead-up to the Ashes last month.
The allegations put both players under further speculation ahead of Thursday’s start to the second Ashes Test. England claimed the first Test, winning by 14 runs on day five last Sunday.
Arthur is said to be returning to Australia this weekend and is alleging he was discriminated against because of his South African background.
Warner, who was fined $11,000 for punching Root and will miss out on at least one more Test match before returning to the Australian side, has admitted his actions played a part in Arthur’s dismissal.
“I rang my mum and dad and told them I wasn’t playing and I kind of broke down on the phone to mum,” Warner told reporters yesterday before flying out with the Australia A side to South Africa.
“It was probably another thing that was gutting, that I may have played a part in that,” said Warner.
“I still feel the guilt of what happened. I feel myself it’s led to me being in this situation at the moment.
“I put my hand up and accepted the consequences and now it’s about me putting as many runs on the board these next two games and pressing forward.”
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