Arthur defends suspension of four players

Mickey Arthur today defended his decision to suspend four players on count of discipline ahead of Mohali Test, saying it was a right step in the direction of becoming world number one again.
Arthur and skipper Michael Clarke had decided to suspend Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson when they failed to submit a presentation on how to improve their and team's performance.
"Hopefully this is the foundation for something good. We could have gone and just carried on and we would have been third in the world comfortably. We don't accept that. We want to get ourselves to No.1 in the world and give ourselves the best possible opportunity to do that," Arthur said after arriving here from a disastrous India tour.

"We've put some stuff in place that we think can get that team there over the next 24 months," he said.
Arthur also dismissed suggestions that there was a rift within the team, saying the theory was mere an imagination of media and everything was all right between Watson and Clarke.
"Team harmony is fantastic, honestly, 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," he asserted.