Is Boof just the first of many changes?

Darren Lehmann is the new coach of the Australian Cricket team. Mickey Arthur is gone. It has all happened very quickly and the timing, fifteen days out from the Ashes, has been questioned by a number of the game’s commentators.

It is perhaps fitting, however, that it has happened at a time when the AFL season is in full swing back home, a sport in which coaches come and go at the drop of a hat.

I can’t help but draw parallels with Mark Neeld and the Melbourne Football Club, and what has happened to so many other coaches in the same code in the past.

It is not uncommon for an AFL coach to be sacked unceremoniously mid-season and mid-contract. It is accepted as part of the game by those in the industry and from those observing it from outside.

The coach is always first to go when a team is not getting results.

With Melbourne FC, of course, the problems run much much deeper than the head coach.

CEO Cameron Schwab and president Don McLardy are gone, and the entire football department is under review.

The club is frequently referred to as the “basket-case of the AFL” and, it seems, will be rebuilt from the ground up under the direction of interim CEO Peter Jackson.

Different sport, different group of players, different circumstances, but the fact remains that the coach has taken the blame for a team that is underperforming and has not developed to the level of success that the public, and Cricket Australia, demands.

On field results can sometimes be forgiven if the path to building a successful unit is clear for all to see. AFL teams often talk about re-building phases and supporters will accept it up to a point.

The curve needs to be heading upwards, however, and most critics will tell you that the Australian team has been in freefall for some time.

More worrying than the on-field results is the continuing controversy off it.

Rumblings of descent and rumoured factions in the team; the homework scandal in India that led to four players, including then vice captain Shane Watson, being suspended; David Warner’s twitter tirade and assault of England batsman Joe Root in a Birmingham nightclub, and subsequent suspension.

Only those close to the playing group will know what they really thought of their coach, but to an outside observer it does appear that respect of the man and his methods was lacking, as was the ability to translate his message to performances on the field.

It seems that all of these things have ultimately cost Mickey Arthur his job.

Whether he is solely responsible for the current state of the Australian set-up is questionable, but what is apparent is that Cricket Australia felt the need to act, and act they did.

The timing of the decision may have had a great deal to do with the choice of successor.

Darren Lehmann has enjoyed great results as coach of Queensland, the Brisbane Heat and, most recently, Australia A.

He knows the Australian set-up from the perspective of a coach and as a player, and is definitely a figure that the players, and the public, will accept.

If there was a lack of respect among the playing group for Mickey Arthur, you can bet this will not be the case with Lehmann.

His reputation as a strong personality who doesn’t mince his words is well known. He has promised to bring an “honest, open approach” to any discipline problems – already a change from Arthur’s penchant for keeping such issues in-house.

He has also flagged his intention to get other past Australian legends such as Shane Warne involved in the current side by providing advice and guidance to the players, a move that would surely be welcomed by the cricketing public and players alike.

It remains to be seen if the change in coach was the right decision. It may be that the current problems run deeper than just one man. Leadership is important in any team sport – it comes from the coach, but also the captain and senior players, and management.

High Performance Manager Pat Howard and Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland must surely bear some responsibility for the current state of the Australian set-up. It may be for the further good of the game that more fresh blood is needed right at the top.

The removal of Mickey Arthur could be a masterstroke or an unmitigated disaster, depending on what happens in the coming series, and it could be the first of many changes within the current Australian cricket hierarchy based on those results.

We will know soon enough.