Cricket: Four Australia players dropped

Published on 12/03/2013 02:17

AUSTRALIA vice-captain Shane Watson was last night considering his future in the sport after being one of four players dropped for the third Test against India – with skipper Michael Clarke suggesting the sanction was imposed for more than one breach of discipline.

Watson, along with James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson, was told he would not be considered for this week’s must-win match in Mohali. He later left the team hotel and flew home to be with his pregnant wife.

Coach Mickey Arthur initially suggested the decision to axe the quartet had been made after they failed to 
submit a presentation on how the tourists could improve on their defeats in the first two Tests, but Clarke later 
confirmed it was “not just about one 
incident”.

Before he left India, all-rounder Watson told The Australian newspaper: “Any time you are suspended from a Test match, unless you have done something unbelievably wrong and, obviously, everyone knows what those rules are – I think it is very harsh.

“I have got to live with it. That is the decision they have made and I am at a stage where I have to weigh up my 
future with what I want to do with my cricket in general.”

Having come in for criticism from former Australia players – ex-captain Allan Border described Cricket Australia’s decision as “over the top” – Clarke later explained the foursome had been in trouble previously.