Former Australian Test batsman Michael Hussey has revealed that 'warning signs' about the team environment had emerged after Australia's 2011-12 Test series win over India.
Hussey also felt that making captain Michael Clarke a selector, a position Clarke has since relinquished, had driven a 'wedge between the players and their leader, and it wasn't fair to either side'.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hussey claimed that he observed the first cracks in the team culture during last year's tour of the West Indies, just after the India Test series, following which he ceased enjoying the dressing room atmosphere, saying that he had raised his concerns with then coach Mickey Arthur.
Stating that he was also dismayed at decisions made by Cricket Australia (CA) in the aftermath of the Argus review, Hussey further said that CA 'went in the other direction' from pretty much everything he had suggested', adding that his main concerns were the aggressive promotion of youth in domestic cricket and appointing Clarke as selector.
According to Hussey, although he had laid his cards on the table in front of Arthur and urged him to foster a beneficial team culture, Arthur was in 'tunnel vision mode' which led to the fostering of an environment where players only cared about their own positions instead of thinking about the team.
Hussey also said that the dressing room also became stressful and tense like the field instead of being a sanctuary, where a player could let go and have a joke with his teammates, adding that he ceased enjoying the atmosphere after it stopped becoming calm or conducive to good play.
