Cricket Australia (CA) advises that Darren Lehmann has replaced Mickey Arthur as Australia head coach.
Arthur was appointed in November 2011 and since that time Australia has won 10 of 19 Tests, 18 of 39 ODIs and 7 of 16 T20s.
CA CEO James Sutherland said: “This has been a difficult decision to make but one that we feel is necessary. We are looking to establish a high performing Australian cricket team that is consistent over a period of time. To achieve that, we need all the parts moving in the right direction. Recent on-field results have been too inconsistent.
“Discipline, consistency of behavior and accountability for performance are all key ingredients that need to improve. And we see that the head coach is ultimately responsible for that.
“The Cricket Australia Board decided yesterday that Mickey Arthur should not continue as head coach of the Australian cricket team. In taking this decision, the Board accepted the recommendation to make an immediate change as being in the best interests of the team.
“The timing is far from ideal less than three weeks out from an Ashes series, but we didn’t feel we could sit back and hope things would change. We had to tackle the critical issues that go to the heart of a high performing team environment. We firmly believe that the decisions made will be for the best.
“Mickey was advised of the Board’s decision in person yesterday by CA’s Executive General Manager Team Performance Pat Howard.
“While it was clearly a very difficult decision, we take this moment to acknowledge Mickey’s passion and commitment to Australian cricket and the Australian cricket team and thank him for all his hard work and efforts,” Sutherland said.
Mickey Arthur said: “Naturally I’m very disappointed with how this has all ended. I certainly wanted to see the job through but I accept that the team hasn’t been completely galvanised under my leadership and our performances have been inconsistent.
“I’m certainly a believer in good culture and traditions much like all Australians and feel we were starting to get a shift in the right direction. We certainly need the team to be absolutely unified if we’re any chance of beating the English.
“I will take some time out with family and friends and reflect on this and hope to continue my career in cricket coaching. I am passionate about it and, like all Australians, I want to see us succeed on and off the field. It has been a very challenging 18 months and I think the future is bright for Australian cricket. I have built some wonderful relationships over the period and I genuinely care about the team and wish them all the best in the upcoming series.”
Sutherland welcomed Lehmann on his appointment as the new head coach of the Australian team.
“Darren Lehmann has been appointed as the new Australia head coach. He has had outstanding success in a short time with Queensland Cricket winning the Bupa Sheffield Shield, Ryobi One-Day Cup and KFC T20 Big Bash League all within the last two years. He will be contracted until June 2016.”
“The Board considered him the outstanding candidate to drive the performance improvement the team needs and to take it to the number one ranking in all formats of the game. No-one is underestimating the task at hand but we believe he is the right man for the job. It is up to the players to respond under his leadership and demonstrate their commitment to a successful Australian team.”
At the same time, Michael Clarke has stepped down as a selector of the team.
“Michael first approached Pat Howard in April after the recent Indian series and requested to stand down as a selector so that he could focus on his team’s and his own preparation to play international cricket. This change will allow Michael to focus his primary responsibilities as a player and as captain.
“The board unanimously supported Michael’s request and he will naturally continue to be heavily consulted by the National Selection Panel (NSP) on all team selection issues,” Sutherland said.