Infamous four a disgrace: Aussie media

The Australian media has backed the team management's decision to suspend four players, saying the "infamous four deserve no sympathy for their feckless disregard for the team ethos and culture".

"What a disgrace," a Herald Sun report read. "Australia's infamous four deserve not a shred of sympathy for their feckless disregard for the team ethos and culture aimed at returning Australia to the apex of world cricket.

"In the past week, Mickey Arthur and the selectors have copped an absolute hammering from Australian cricket fans for the team's dismal performances on this wretched tour of India. They have been dubbed a shambles...Some may have even questioned their passion, and whether they truly care about the baggy green.

"Today, Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur should be applauded for their relentless desire to bring success back to Australian cricket...The actions of Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja are a kick in the guts for the standards of excellence Clarke and Arthur are trying to establish.

"Watson, Johnson, Pattinson and Khawaja are paid more than $500,000 a year to play cricket for their country. That they failed to take part in a peer review aimed at improving the team is an indictment on their professionalism and shows a lack of respect for the baggy green."

The Sydney Morning Herald also stood behind Arthur and Clarke. "The standing down of four squad members...is the head coach's undeniable statement that enough is enough. It has already echoed around the cricket world. Known to be intolerable towards bad attitudes or players who put themselves before the team Arthur gathered Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja aside, one by one, and spelled out a few home truths," a report in the daily said.

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