Brisbane, Mar 13: Australian cricket folklore is stocked with tales of `loveable larrikins' who've made winning look easy, or unleashed the kind of dry one-liners on opponents that withstand the tests of time.
Here's a tip for young players, though: don't try it on the coach or captain, particularly when you're losing.
The fallout from the suspension of four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, for one test match for failing to submit a self-critique to coach Mickey Arthur by deadline has crossed into a third day in Australia.
The announcement was initially derided and ridiculed by ex-players, including some Australian greats, for being too severe for what amounted to players failing to do their homework.
But the sentiment started turning against the players by Wednesday, with the Courier-Mail newspaper in Watson's home state of Queensland blaring the headline "Fat, Late and Lazy" across its back page. All the while, Arthur has kept up his defense of the bans.
Watson quit the tour and returned to Sydney on Tuesday to spend time with his pregnant wife before the birth of their first child, saying he needed to think about his future. He was still saying the punishment didn't fit the crime when he landed at Sydney International.
But with back-to-back Ashes series in England and Australia starting in August, there's no time for a fractured team.
Arthur wrote in a blog for Cricket Australia on Wednesday that "back chat" and "giving attitude" had reached unacceptable levels within the squad, and the failure by Watson, fast bowlers James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson and backup batsman Usman Khawaja to submit their appraisals was the last straw.
"Being late for a meeting, high skinfolds, wearing the wrong attire, back-chat or giving attitude are just some examples of these behavioral issues that have been addressed discretely but continue to happen," Arthur wrote. "If we're deadly serious about getting back to No. 1 in the world, all players need to raise the bar and lift their game.
"If not, we must be content at being No. 3, or 4 or 5, in world cricket because we won't get any better. The players won't learn and we'll continue a vicious cycle."
Arthur didn't name names or point out habitual rule breakers, but said he needed to send a clear message to the whole squad by punishing the four players.
He said it was "the defining moment," adding: "But it has been a culmination of lots of small minor indiscretions that have built up to now."
Captain Michael Clarke said it was no coincidence that the poor discipline and form slump were simultaneous.
Arthur, a former South Africa coach who was the first foreigner appointed to the helm of the Australian team, was shocked by the fallout since Australia slipped 2-0 down in a four-test series in India after two heavy defeats.
Allan Border, an iconic figure in Australian cricket, could barely fathom the punishment for the four players, saying it was "way over the top." Shane Warne said the sanction was ridiculous and Mark Waugh said, "I've never heard of anything so stupid in all my life. It's not under-6's -- this is test cricket."
Arthur wrote in his blog that the last 10 days had been "the toughest in my 11 years coaching."
"The media reaction to this decision was like none I've seen in my coaching career and has certainly divided opinion," he said. "It is a strong message to everyone in Australian cricket that if you want to play for the Australian cricket team, then we demand excellence. Corner-cutting, taking short-cuts or arriving with a bad attitude will no longer be tolerated."
Respected cricket writer and commentator Robert Craddock published columns for News Ltd. telling readers not to feel sorry for the suspended cricketers.
"This day has been coming for some time," he said. "Around Australia yesterday, talkback radio lines were jammed with callers saying this was a classic case of a sledgehammer being used to swat a fly. Of course it was, but that doesn't make it wrong."
Since Australia's latest golden era of the 1990s and early 2000s ended, standards have slipped.
"In every state, there are players earning a million dollars a year who are plodders by international standards," Craddock wrote. "Many are soft with over-inflated opinions of their worth who perform neatly within their narrow comfort zone. Some are overweight.
"The game needed a jolt and here it is."
Craddock is among those who think Watson should never be reinstated as vice-captain.
Australia's woes have been terrific fodder for the critics and players in England, who had a recent series win in India and are due to host the Australians in the next Ashes series.
Andrew Flintoff, a hero of England's drought-breaking Ashes win at home in 2005 who later led the team which was swept in the subsequent series in 2006-07, poked fun at Australia's predicament.
"Amazing 4 Aussie players banned for not doing homework," Flintoff, who had his own problems with England's disciplinary committees, posted on Twitter. "I thought letting them play in the next test would be punishment enough (hash)3-0india."
Pattinson, the 22-year-old paceman who is considered the future of Australian seem bowling, accepted Arthur's punishment as fair and rejected the angry reaction from past players and the public.
"A lot of the players that are saying that were great players, and they probably didn't have to deal with this stuff because they were in a period of time when they were on top of the world," he said.
"We're in a different position. We've got a lot of young guys. We're trying to build this culture and I think it sends good messages to everyone out there that we are really trying to improve."
