The suspension of four cricketers from the Third Test in India was, according to coach Mickey Arthur, incurred as “the final straw” for many previous misdemeanours such as failing to attend team meetings and being late for training. This aberrant behaviour could be indicative of a far deeper discontent and demands closer scrutiny.
To dismiss Shane Watson’s quick exit as “an act of petulance”, as Tim Lane contended (“Humble pie for fragile Watson” Sport, 17/3), is to overlook more significant signals that not all is what it seems. Maybe some of the players are just not consistently good enough to successfully compete at elite level and their reluctance to face that reality manifests as a lack of commitment to the team ethos; something far less troubling for Cricket Australia and its management team to confront.