• The Ashes

Haddin critical of 'insecure' Arthur

Brad Haddin on Mickey Arthur: "I don't think he was secure enough in himself to get us to where we needed to go" © Getty Images

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Australia's vice-captain Brad Haddin has delivered a stinging critique of the Mickey Arthur era, saying the former coach was "very, very insecure" and contributed to the suffocating team atmosphere that culminated in his eventual sacking.

Haddin will play his 50th Test at the Gabba at the start of the Ashes series, and said the national team are now thriving under Darren Lehmann, who replaced Arthur before the previous encounter with England.

"I think with Darren coming in, the message he's got across, the brand of cricket that we want to play, and I think you guys understand the brand that Australian cricket wanted to play and what we have forever and a day, I think that got lost in the period that Mickey had a hold of us," Haddin said. "I don't think he understood and was secure enough in himself to get us to where we needed to go, and it's actually been refreshing coming into a campaign, smiles on guys' faces enjoying the game for what it is, a great game of cricket.

"I think what Boof [Lehmann] does is he understands the game and he encourages guys to talk about the game and the bottom line is it's a game of cricket. He's a very well-respected person in cricket circles and he's a good person. The one thing he gives the group that Mickey didn't, he was very, very insecure and that came across in a lot of our selections and our play I think to be perfectly honest. Under Darren we've got a clear message of where we want to go and how we're going to get there. He's able to help guys on the way to get to that point."

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

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