Former Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur wanted Australia to lose the Ashes

Mickey Arthur

Former Australian coach Mickey Arthur revealed in an interview for Channel Nine program ‘The Bottom Line’ that he wanted Australia to lose the Ashes last summer. Arthur was the coach of the Australia national cricket team until his sacking on June 23, 2013, which the South African still resents.

“The thing that I didn’t like, I felt the process was poor,” Arthur told the interviewer. “I felt there was a lack of respect shown and that hurt me more than anything.

“Suddenly from where I’d been part of a lot of decisions and a lot of people bounced a lot of stuff off me, it sort of watered down a lot and I felt it, I did feel it. I was almost thinking, ‘I want Australia to lose here’ you know and the next day waking up thinking ‘geez, but I want [Michael] Clarke and [Shane] Watson to get runs’.”

When asked about his reason for suspending four players during Australia’s humiliating tour of india, Arthur said: “I wanted the players to know what the values were and what was expected of them when they came into the Australian cricket team. I really felt that the team needed to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck.”

“I’ll never forget Cricket Australia telling me I was too soft and I’d been too soft with the team. I kind of didn’t know what they wanted.”

“I take total responsibility. The thing that I didn’t like, I felt the process was poor. I felt there was a lack of respect shown and that hurt me more than anything. Suddenly from where I’d been part of a lot of decisions and a lot of people bounced a lot of stuff off me, it sort of watered down a lot and I felt it, I did feel it,” he added.

A classic case of sour grapes.