Arthur was sacked following a meeting with chief executive James Sutherland and high performance manager Pat Howard in Bristol, where Australia has been continuing their build up to the Ashes. Arthur's sacking is the culmination of poor performance by his men, both on and off the field.
On the field, the Australian Test team lost 4-0 to India in a recent series and failed to win a match at the Champions Trophy in England. While off the field, David Warner's one-sided boxing bout with English batsmen Joe Root and the 'homework' debacle in India, where four players were suspended for failing to complete tasks set for them by Arthur appear to have irretrievably dented Cricket Australia's confidence in Arthur.
The coaching drama could hardly come at a worse time for the Australian team with the first Ashes test only 2 weeks away. Incoming coach Darren Lehmann, unveiled on Monday night, has a tough job ahead of him as he attempts to refocus his charges ahead of their clash with an in-form English side.
Lehmann, however, has proved a popular and successful coach at both state and Australia A level. The 43-year-old, who played 27 Test and 117 one-day internationals for Australia, has led Queensland to both Sheffield Shield and one-day titles as well as guiding the Brisbane Heat to the Big Bash title earlier this year.
Indeed, the stage is set for a compelling Ashes series. The Poms are at home, have a rock solid batting line-up, a wily spinner and an imposing pace battery. Everything looks to be working in England's favour.
Meanwhile, the Aussie line-up is far from settled, their captain and best batsmen is struggling with injury and they have enough off-field distractions for both teams. The Australians are quite clearly the underdogs and the way I see it, they really only have two options.
They can make excuses or they can dig in and show some fight. I know which choice I hope they make come July 10. Bring it on.
Adam Schoenmaker is a pastor in in his local church in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Adam loves a good book, a classic album and all Queensland sporting teams.
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