Arthur: I had no choice

Sydney - Axed Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur on Sunday said there had been a "deliberate campaign" against him in past days and his reputation had suffered greatly from his sacking.

Returning to Perth after attending his mother's funeral in South Africa, Arthur said he had no choice but to take legal action against Cricket Australia after he was dismissed just days before the start of the Ashes series against England.

"After my dismissal, I received nothing in writing from Cricket Australia, no contact, and no payment at all, not even my basic leave pay, until I was forced to bring in lawyers to assist in the process," he said.

"I had tried on a number of occasions to make direct contact at a very senior level of Cricket Australia, for days there was just no response."

Arthur, who was replaced by Darren Lehmann, said that given the circumstances of his dismissal, he had hoped that Cricket Australia would be willing to resolve the matter through private talks.

But explosive details of his Aus$4 million case to the Fair Work Commission, including claims of divisions within the Australian team, were leaked to the media ahead of the second Test.

"Selective leaks by others have ruined my attempts to protect the Australian cricket team and everyone involved," Arthur read from a statement in Perth.

"As I've said, no one associated with me has played any part in releasing that confidential document."

Arthur, who was sacked after a series loss in India, a poor showing in the Champions League and incidents of ill-discipline among the team, said that Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland had even acknowledged that he had to some extent been made a scapegoat.

"The damage to my reputation and career has been immense, which means the chances of me getting a senior job are that much less," the South African said.

"I was truly shocked and devastated by my dismissal. I had received a positive appraisal on all my key performance indicators just prior to departing for the Ashes tour."

Arthur said that he had been told that batsman David Warner's off-field behaviour, in which he punched England batsman Joe Root in a Birmingham bar, had been "the last straw" for the CA board.

"I received no hearing at all over that issue, and no one was doing more to improve discipline in the young Australian team than I was," he said.

Meanwhile a CA statement issued later Sunday at Lord's, where the national side were facing a crushing defeat by England in the second Ashes Test, disputed Arthur's version of events.

"Cricket Australia stands by its earlier statements on this matter and disputes a number of claims made by Mickey Arthur today," it read.

"We will not be articulating these disputes publicly except to say that we are confident in our legal position, are comfortable with the level of support provided to Mickey and look forward to resolving this matter in an appropriate manner."

Arthur, according to leaked legal documents, said that Australia captain Michael Clarke had told him that all-rounder Shane Watson and his faction were a "cancer" upon the team.

Australia had to fight the flames of yet more controversy Sunday in response to an abusive Twitter message criticising Watson posted by Warner's brother Steven on Friday after the all-rounder wasted a review in an attempt to overturn a plumb lbw decision.

Steven Warner tweeted: "Fucking selfish Watson the sooner you are out if [sic] the side you great pretender the better."

David Warner, temporarily exiled from the Ashes series to take part in the Australia A tour of Africa, distanced himself from his brother's remarks.

"Earlier this week, my brother Steven Warner published a Tweet about Shane Watson. Like everyone, he is entitled to his opinions but I want to state categorically that I do not endorse his comments and fully support Shane and all my team mates -- David Warner," the batsman's statement said.