Former Australian national coach Mickey Arthur has reportedly hired a leading legal firm to seek further compensation over the abrupt end of his reign in favour of Darren Lehmann.
According to the Guardian, Arthur, who was contracted until the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, was sacked by Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland and high performance manager Pat Howard after Australia failed to qualify for the semi finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Along with Australia's failed Champions Trophy campaign, Arthur had to face more embarrassment after the homework debacle in India followed by David Warner's suspension for swinging a punch at Joe Root in the aftermath of the Champions Trophy defeat by England at Edgbaston.
In view of these problems, this new case will create a further ripple in the already beleaguered Australian team, which is striving to polish off England's second innings on Friday, although Sutherland had admitted at that time that Arthur might be realistically seen as a 'scapegoat'.
However, the report said that there was no hint then of him taking legal action, with Sutherland, who had opened proceedings with Howard saying that the board will meet all their responsibilities to Arthur, adding that as head coach, he needed to take responsibility for the performance of the team.
Arthur, a former South Africa coach who was given the Australia job in early 2011 after making a positive impression in state cricket in Perth, has been linked with the vacancy at Surrey since they dismissed Chris Adams last month, the report added.
