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'Memorable for all the wrong reasons': Haddin

The ex-Australia 'keeper opens up on his rocky relationship with former coach Mickey Arthur

Former Test and ODI wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has slammed former Australia coach Mickey Arthur, saying he had three "memorable-for-all-the-wrong-reasons conversations" with the South African in the months leading up to the coach's sacking just weeks before the 2013 Ashes.

In his newly-released autobiography My Family's Keeper, Haddin reveals the heartbreaking details of his daughter Mia's illness in 2012, when he took take some time away from the game and his position as Australia's No.1 keeper-batsman went to Victorian Matthew Wade.

Quick Single: Haddin opens up on his greatest battle

In the summer of 2012-13, with Mia's health improving and Haddin attempting to force his way back into the side, he says he rebuked Arthur for twice telling him privately that he was "the best wicketkeeper-batsman in Australia" despite still being Wade's deputy.

Haddin says he shrugged off the first such encounter, after a one-day match in Adelaide in January, but revealed he snapped at Arthur two months later when the coach told him again on the eve of the final Test of the infamous 2013 Test tour of India, in which Wade was selected to take the gloves.

Quick Single:It was like a knife to the heart: Haddin

Coming in the wake of the 'Homework' scandal that was to define the tour, Haddin says it underlined Arthur's insecurity in the top job.

"I'd let it go when he said that in Adelaide but this time it was hard to cop," Haddin writes of Arthur, the current Pakistan coach who returns to Australia this month for the three-Test series beginning December 15.

"I said, 'Mate, you're kidding. I've had enough of this. You've just told me that I'm the best player in my position and you're not picking me for a Test match. You've got this all wrong. I'm out. Leave me alone.'

"I walked away from him past Nathan Lyon, who'd been within earshot of the whole exchange. He said a quiet, 'Good work, Hadds,' as I went by."

Image Id: 1B349E783FD44278A5DB266F767B4154 Image Caption: Haddin walks out to bat on day five on the 2013 Trent Bridge Test // Getty

Fast-forward three months and Haddin, who had been re-installed as the Test team's 'keeper-batsman and also elevated to the vice-captaincy, says he sat down with Arthur to discuss the possible make-up of the side for the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

What Haddin said should have been a straight-forward conversation between coach and vice-captain about selection took a turn when Arthur added, 'And just assume that you're in the team'.

Quick Single: Kiwi hospitality a ploy to unsettle us: Haddin

"That was a completely bizarre thing to say," Haddin writes.

"Everyone from (selection chairman) John Inverarity down had repeatedly made it plain in public and in private that I was the Australian team's Test wicketkeeper. Not to mention the fact that I was vice-captain!

"I had no idea what he was trying to get at, but once again I didn't have the time or interest to figure it out. I said, 'Mate, I can't deal with this', and left him to it."

Image Id: 797E2E79DBEE4FD2B8B843F5E93C56F2 Image Caption: Haddin looks on during the 2013 Lord's Test // Getty

Two days later, Arthur was sacked and replaced by Darren Lehmann, a decision that Haddin says "wasn't a surprise".

Speaking to cricket.com.au last month, Haddin said the team environment during that India tour was unlike any other he experienced during his career.

Having joined the playing group midway through the tour when Wade injured himself before the third Test, Haddin said he was determined to work as hard as possible to force his way back into the side having been absent for the better part of a year due to Mia's illness.

But he said the open and honest team environment he'd grown accustomed to with Australia and New South Wales was nowhere to be seen.

Quick Single: Haddin opens up on greatest battle

"Everything felt uncomfortable, there was a lot of anxiety, guys were looking over their shoulders," he said on reflection last month.

"It was something I'd never experienced before in my life.

"That was one of the most unique experiences (of my career), and it wasn't a pleasant one.

"When it finally came to a head, I’d just had enough. I wasn't used to that in the Australian team.

"I was always brought up that this was the pinnacle to play for Australia, and for someone to tell me on a number of occasions that I was the best player in my position, it was the total opposite of what I'd been brought up with."

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