PERTH: Australia cricket coach Mickey Arthur has said the tour of India was the toughest of his career but expressed confidence that his side can again become No.1 in Tests in two years.
Australia’s 0-4 drubbing in India was their worst result in the Indian subcontinent and the worst ever since losing 1-5 to England in the 1978-79 Ashes.
“I’ve said it publicly, it was the toughest tour I’ve ever had in my career but that’s what happens in India. India is a tough place to go and play, it’s a tough place to win. We set ourselves very high standards with the Australian team. Myself and Michael (Clarke) set really high standards with the players,” Arthur was quoted as saying by Herald Sun yesterday.
“I think we moved forward, moved in the right direction and hopefully this will be the foundation of something really good for the Australian cricket side. We’ve said it numerous times now; we could have carried on and been third in the world comfortably but we don’t accept that, we want be No.1 in the world. We’ve put some stuff in place that we believe can get this team there in the next 24 months.”
Arthur also denied about the speculated rift between skipper Clarke and vice-captain Shane Watson.
“Team harmony is fantastic. The players work extremely hard. We’ve got a really good group of young players who want nothing more than to make Australia the best cricket team in the world. It’s a funny perception around Michael and Shane, they’re different personalities, different characters but they get on really well. It’s sometimes a media beat-up around Watto and Pup, they work really well together and always have. I haven’t seen anything to dispel that,” said the South African.
Sacked skipper Taylor not happy in New Zealand set-up
WELLINGTON: Ex-New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor, replaced as captain late last year, admitted yesterday he was not entirely comfortable in the team following a dramatic Test series draw against England. Taylor also indicated there was more to the way he lost the captaincy to Brendon McCullum than has been revealed.
“I wouldn’t say I’m as comfortable as I would like to be but I guess time will tell,” Taylor told Radio Sport when questioned about the atmosphere inside the New Zealand dressing room. Taylor would not go into details but said the full story of his demotion may yet be made public.
“There’s a lot of things that have happened. Maybe over the next couple of weeks or months, things might get told but as of now, it’s probably not a great time to talk about it,” he said. Taylor, a mainstay of the New Zealand batting line-up, who averages more than 40 in Test cricket, said he was looking forward to the tour of England in May and June. AGENCIES
