Australian vice-captain Shane Watson has walked out of the tour of India and is considering quitting cricket. Source: The Mercury
Australian Test vice-captain Shane Watson leaving the team hotel in India last night following his sensational axing from the third Test. Picture: Peter Badel Source: The Courier-Mail
UPDATED: A SHATTERED Shane Watson is considering retiring from cricket after the Australian vice-captain last night sensationally quit the Indian tour following his dumping for the third Test.
In one of the most dramatic days in Australian cricket history, coach Mickey Arthur dropped a bombshell on the team yesterday 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 respond to a peer review of the side's dismal performance in the second Test.
But the team was rocked by a second ruction late last night, with vice-captain Watson deciding to leave India to be with wife Lee, who is heavily pregnant and due to give birth.
Watson has been left gutted by the circumstances surrounding his axing - to the point where he is now contemplating walking away from the game.
"I am going to spend the next few weeks with my family and weigh up my options as to exactly which direction I want to go," he said.
"There are a lot more important things in life. I do love playing cricket and that passion is still there and I feel I am in the prime years of my cricket career.
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"But in the end I have got to live with this. That is the decision they have made and at this point in time I am at a stage where I have to weigh up my future with what I want to do with my cricket in general to be honest."
Watson made a hasty exit from the team hotel last night dressed in a black suit. He believes the decision to dump the quartet was heavy handed.
"I am excited about the birth, but I'm absolutely shattered," he said.
"Anytime you are suspended from a Test match, unless you have do something unbelievably wrong and obviously everyone knows what those rules are ink it is very harsh."
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 failed 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.
Arthur said it was the toughest day of his coaching career, but a step necessary in team hierarchy's goal to make Australia the No.1 Test side in world cricket.
Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja have all been axed from the third Test against India in Mohali. Source:
While Pattinson, Khawaja and Johnson will be considered for the fourth Test in Delhi, Arthur said the decision was a "line in the sand" for Australian cricket.
"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.
"Its 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 provide 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, weve 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 poor 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."
