Arthur slams Australian team for ‘boorish, arrogant behaviour’

Former Australian Coach Mickey Arthur has slammed Australian cricket team, saying that the behaviour of the players in the side he once coached has been 'boorish and arrogant'.

Arthur, who was in charge of Australia between 2011 to 2013, the culture of the team made him believe an incident such as the one that took place at Newlands was inevitable.

“I have been bitterly disappointed watching the Australian cricket team over the last few years. The behaviour has been boorish and arrogant. The way they’ve gone about their business hasn’t been good and it hasn’t been good for a while," he said.

"I know what my Pakistani players were confronted with in Australia two summers ago. I heard some of the things said to the English players during the Ashes. It was scandalous. And I have seen many incidents like Nathan Lyon throwing the ball at AB de Villiers in this series.

“A deterioration of standards that would culminate in an incident so bad, so ugly, that it would shame the leaders of the organisation into taking drastic action to change the culture, or risk alienating fans, sponsors, broadcasters and other stakeholders,” he added.

South African-born Arthur was the first non-Australian to coach the men’s national team, taking over from Tim Nielsen, shortly after the team had been defeated in a home Ashes series for the first time since 1986-87.

Arthur said that he was brought in with a commission to change the team’s culture and reinstate a slipping sense of discipline.