NSW
14256 posts
Imagine how bad Micky Arthurs is...........
What the hell is going on over in India? I bet LL is struggling right now....this cricket team is just falling apart at the seams......
UPDATED: AUSTRALIA's selection crisis took an extraordinary twist tonight with Shane Watson quitting the tour to be with his pregnant wife in the wake of his sacking for the third Test.
In one of the most dramatic days in Australian cricket history, coach Mickey Arthur dropped a bombshell on the team by dumping Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja for breaching team discipline.
The quartet were stood down from selection for one match for failing to take part in a peer review of the side's dismal performance in the second Test.
But the team was rocked by a second ruction late tonight, with vice-captain Watson deciding to leave India to be with wife Lee, who is heavily pregnant and due to give birth.
It is unknown if Watson's sacking was the driving force behind the decision but coach Mickey Arthur said yesterday he was left shattered when informed of his demotion by Australian hierarchy.
The departure of Watson is a savage blow to the Australian team and could have huge ramifications for his future as vice-captain.
In a landmark day for Australian cricket, coach Mickey Arthur revealed the quartet have been stood down for the third Test against India for not taking part in a written review following the side's heavy innings defeat in the second Test.
The 16-man touring party was asked to complete a personal review of the team's culture and expectations and the improvements needed to be made for the third Test starting Thursday.
Watson, Pattinson, Khawaja and Johnson did not bother to submit a personal analysis - prompting team hierarchy, with the support of skipper Michael Clarke, to immediately rule the group out for the Test in Mohali.
The coach said the quartet are "gutted".
He added it was the toughest day of his coaching career, but a step necessary in the team hierarchy's goal to make Australia the No.1 Test side in world cricket.
While the contingent will be considered for the fourth Test in Delhi, Arthur said the decision was a "line in the sand" for Australian cricket.
In an extraordinary step, Arthur summoned the Australian media covering the tour to the team hotel to a specially convened press conference to drop a bombshell on the national team.
"They are absolutely gutted, as I was having to deliver a message like that," he said.
"We were all gutted by it, but this is the expectation if you want to play cricket for Australia.
"This is a line-in-the-sand moment.
"This has been the toughest decision that myself, (team) manager Gavin Dovey and captain Michael Clarke have ever had to make.
"It's a tough, tough decision, but the ramifications for that within our team's structure and the message that it sends to all involved in Australian cricket is that we are pretty serious about where we want to take this team."
Arthur said the players were given five days to submit a personal critique of improvements to be made to the side with a deadline of Saturday.
Many players delivered presentations in Arthur's room, while others provided feedback in email form.
It is understood Watson and Pattinson planned to see Arthur yesterday. The coach said Khawaja and Johnson simply forgot to provided feedback.
"I asked the players at the end of the game to give me an individual presentation," Arthur said.
"I wanted three points from each of them technically, mentally and team as to how we were going to get back over the next couple of games, how we were going to get ourselves back into the series.
"We have given these guys absolute clarity, we have given this team a huge amount of time to buy in with what we want to do for the Australian cricket team.
"We have given a vision to these guys that is spelt out, we've given an expectation that is spelt out and although this incident might seem very small in isolation this is a line-in-the-sand moment for us as a unit in our quest to become the best in the world.
"If I have to be honest we have looked through the last year. 'Pup' (Clarke) and I have been immensely focused on winning cricket games.
"Perhaps the one percenters have slipped and irrespective of who the personnel, we have made a massive statement to everybody out there that we are pretty damn serious about what we want to do."
The fallout is particularly severe for Watson, who is the Australian vice-captain and has been under pressure after a dismal run of form at Test level in the past 18 months.
"It's extremely tough to sit here and make that decision. I wish it wasn't the vice captain," Arthur said.
"I wish it wasn't Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, they are leaders within the team and are very professional with the way they go about their business.
"But this was a moment where we had to make a statement irrespective of who the players were.
"I wanted to make sure the players went back and reflected and looked themselves in the mirror and said, 'This is what I want to do to take this team forward'.
"As severe as a consequence it is, if we remove the names, it sends a proper statement of what we want to do with this cricket team."
QLD
19804 posts
god, i didn't know this.
micky mouse still thinks he's the school principal.
he should be removed immediately and sent to prison.
they got flogged, no written assessment is going to change that- what crock of ****.
good on them i reckon, it could force a change to lunacy that has australian cricket by the balls.
clarks got to stand up here. and what f is he doing being a selector
farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk me
VIC
3829 posts
Pretty rough for not filling out a form....gald watto has left just wish he took Phil hughes with him...gives new meaning to out of form....hahahahahahaha
NSW
14256 posts
England Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff summed up the mood in world cricket, tweeting: "Amazing 4 Aussie players banned for not doing homework , I thought letting them play in the next test would be punishment enough #3-0india."
WA
201 posts
This email was doing the rounds back in January. No idea if it's true or not but it's interesting reading, especially given that Lyon has been dropped. Apologies for the spelling and grammar but it's not my words so I'll leave it unedited:
Caught up with my mate and got some pretty interesting info
ok, there has been alot of talk around the attitude of michael clarke for years, he is a selfish wnker.
Mike apparantly was promised at a minimum two one dayers in the ODI series, in Perth, he was promised this on the back of "best available" talk. It is probably worth mentioning that alot of the players are a bit scared of clarke in terms of the fact that he is a selector now, so they avoid trying to pss him off. Anyways at some point clarke called mike over (after the end of play) and asked if he could have a word. In this discussion he told mike that he wouldnt be playing because they were "looking to the future" mike asked about best available side and all that sht and clarke said "you can have a lap of honor before we play the ODI in Perth" to whihc mike told him to shove his lap up his as. Cricket Australia didnt want to announce the axing but certain members of the hussey camp "accidentally" dropped the hint to journos around the country
clarkey wasnt happy about this and i guess it set the tone for the following couple of days (this was after play day 3 from memory).
So then the day before the game finished mike was asked by clarke what he wanted to do for his last game, and he said that he wanted to just sit in the changerooms and get pssed with the team and the entire support staff. Michael Clarke then proceeded the following day to organise to go on James Packers massive boat (which they could do any time for the next 3 days) but he wanted to go that evening the test ended.
as a side note they all get pretty expensive retirement gifts from the team, and mike (being in charge of the song) will change the ipod to John Williamsons "true blue" this is when the team knows to get in a huddle to sing the team song. anyways someone turns the music off, and mike started complaining that someone had fcked the ipod up... nek minut John Williamson walks in singing "true blue"... thought that was pretty cool.
So anyways, clarke tried to turn it and say "I did this for you mike" (the boat) when he already knew what mike wanted to do, didnt want to go to the boat he wanted to get pssed int he changerooms. So at the end of the day everyone is in the changeroom drinking, clarke had left early because he wanted to go on the boat, some players (including warner) left as well. When it was time to leave for the boat a couple of players asked mike if he was coming, and mike was like "nah go have fun, i will stay and celebrate with my family and the support staff".
Nathon Lyon (Mikes best friend in the team) said "fck that if huss isnt going im not going" then watto said the same. As Vice captain that meant that alot because the players came back to the room and were gonna bail on the boat, because they weren't worried as much about clarke losing it.
So the next minute they get word that Clarke has made the boat an "official Cricket Australia function" which means the players get in trouble for not attending. This forced alot of the players to leave, Siddle and Lyon and the support staff were the only ones left from what I understand, absolutely petty and sht form from clarke considering that they could have gone on the boat the following night.
So in the end Mike, his family and the support staff stayed in the rooms.
Mike then woke up with a voicemail from clarke which abused the sht out of him for leaking to the media and about how he didnt go on the boat with the players. Then clarke put david warner on the phone, who abused the sht out of him as well. Mike just took it in his stride and didnt respond, and the next morning in the lobby of the hotel clarke wouldnt even look at him. Mike apparantly said "hey clarkey, one day you'll know" and that was the last words they had exchanged.
Mike was refferring to the fact that clarke is a selfish ct, and cant understand why mike is retiring (young family etc).
Ted 
i have hated all forms of cricket...with street cricket being the exception my whole life. so PFFFFFFFFTTTTT to cricket
sweet ........... pfffffffftttt it is
