Australia one down

Coach Mickey Arthur sacked with Ashes around the corner; Lehmann appointed

Mickey Arthur was fired as Australia coach and replaced by former Test batsman Darren Lehmann on Monday,plunging the embattled tourists into deeper turmoil just 16 days before the Ashes series against England. As part of a coaching restructure revealed by Cricket Australia,captain Michael Clarke has stepped down as a selector of the team.

The simple thing is,the performances of the Australia team have not been at the standards we expect or desire, CA chief executive James Sutherland said at a news conference in Bristol.

Arthur was hired as the first foreign-born coach of Australia in November 2011 but the South Africans tenure has been plagued by poor results and player indiscipline in recent months.

The disappointing thing is that we were nearly there to cracking it, said Arthur,who added that he didnt feel let down by the players at all.

But I do take responsibility, he said.

The Australians lost a Test series 4-0 in India this year and failed to win a match at the Champions Trophy one-day tournament. Off the pitch,Arthur polarised public opinion when he dropped four players,including vice-captain Shane Watson,from his team for the third Test for failing to complete written reports on their views of the teams performance. The saga was dubbed Homeworkgate.

Arthur might have been held partly responsible for an incident involving David Warner during the Champions Trophy. Warner was drunk when he aimed a punch at Joe Root at a nightclub,after Australias 43-run loss to England. Warner has been suspended until the first Ashes Test,but Sutherland expressed regret at the ineffectual manner in which the incident was dealt by the team management.

Discipline,consistency of behavior and accountability for performance are all key ingredients that need to improve, Sutherland said in a CA statement. And we see that the head coach is ultimately responsible for that. The timing is far from ideal, Sutherland added,but we didnt feel we could sit back and hope matters would change without addressing issues critical to a high-performing team culture. It obviously isnt the type of change we want to make three weeks out from the Ashes commencing but we believe a change is needed.

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Lehmann,who is in England and has coached Australia A,led Queensland state to victories in Australias first class and one-day competitions.

Were really confident that we are making the right decision right now,that this team will respond under Darren Lehmann and we will see an effort during this Ashes series and going forward that Australian cricket fans can be very proud of, Sutherland said. Were confident that the decisions that weve made,tough as they might be,will see improved performance in the short and long term.

Root may open?

London: Joe Root is on course to open in the forthcoming Ashes series against Australia after being named as opener in an England squad for a four-day warmup match against Essex starting on Sunday. Nick Compton,who scored consecutive centuries in New Zealand this year but then struggled in the return series,has not been included in the side announced by the ECB on Monday. The 14-man squad also includes Kevin Pietersen,who recovered from a knee injury and Warwickshires Boyd Rankin.

We believe Joe Root is currently the best opening partner for Alastair Cook and he will open the batting against Essex, said national selector Geoff Miller.