Mickey Arthur has blown the divisive feud between Michael Clarke and Shane Watson out of the proportion and the root of the rift between two players has been the all-rounder's shuffling around the Test match batting order by the Aussie skipper, believes legendary spinner Shane Warne.
"I found when I was captain of Watto in the IPL. I just backed him 100 per cent and he'd end up being player of the tournament. Pup's been doing that but I think what people have missed is they've debated over where Watson should bat. Watto wants to open, Clarke's thinking strong middle order, so I'm sure they've had a few heated debates about where he should bat," Warne told ESPNCricinfo.
"How that translates into they hate each other, they don't get along. It's just been blown out of proportion I believe. And I know both the guys really well and I speak to both all the time. So I think it's not a factual statement.
"But because of the batting situation and the way the team's going, sometimes people can read too much into that. They might have disagreements of opinions over things, but that's okay. You don't need to always agree and it doesn't equal hating each other either," Warne added.
Arthur has reportedly claimed that Clarke had described teammate Shane Watson as a "cancer" on the national cricket team after his confidential lawsuit against Cricket Australia was leaked to the media, leading to a massive controversy.
According to reports in Australian media, legal documents tendered in the Melbourne court showed that Arthur had felt like "meat in the sandwich" in the divisive feud between Clarke and Watson. The South African has reportedly detailed some of the dressing room acrimony which marred the team's on-field performances this year.
"There was major tension between Clarke and Watson," Channel Seven had reported from Arthur's document of claim.
Watson's relationship with Clarke reached a low point during the tour of India earlier this year when he was suspended from the Mohali Test by a leadership group comprised of Clarke, Arthur and the team manager Gavin Dovey.
