We can still win the Ashes - new coach Darren Lehmann upbeat

THE newly installed Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann said his top three priorities were to "win, win, win".

Lehmann and Arthur

THE newly installed Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann said his top three priorities were to "win, win, win" and acknowledged his two-year deal replacing Mickey Arthur on the eve of the highly anticipated Ashes campaign was only as secure as Michael Clarke scoring runs.

Lehmann, who had been conveniently positioned in England as assistant coach of the Australia A touring side, said he would look to introduce expertise from Shane Warne, as well as other former Australian greats in getting the Australian team back on track after a tumultuous tour of India and the disaster of failing to make the ICC Champions trophy semi-finals.

Lehmann said there was "no doubt" the team was still capable of winning the Ashes and the shock of such swift and dramatic action has been a wake-up call.

GRAPHIC: Lehmann and Arthur

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told Clarke of his intentions to make the drastic recommendations to the board on Saturday night after failing to see a turnaround in team culture in England following the disaster of India, but the board decision was only taken on Monday night.

Sutherland said "we will see significant performance improvement in the coming months" with his confidence stemming from Lehmann's old-school reputation.

He said clearly the behaviour and disciplinary concerns of late had prompted the move but said while he had personally accepted responsibility for what had been going on - he appointed Arthur - he had not considered standing down.

Lehmann said his style was to bring the players together, whether it be "over a beer or a diet coke".

Clarke has stood down as a selector and said he had been expressing concern about his role in selections since India.

The moves represent the first signs of an unravelling of the corporate structure imposed on the cricket side in the wake of the Argus report. Clarke said he was shocked at the coaching changes.

"Like everybody I am shocked but we are trying to keep focus on what is important as a player and our priorities and why we are here, having success with the Ashes team," Clarke said. "It is important we stay focused on performance."

After a successful playing career, Lehmann quickly impressed as a coach, taking Queensland to Sheffield Shield and one-day titles and leading the Brisbane Heat to the Big Bash championship.

"We will play an aggressive brand of cricket, get the job done on and off the field. I am looking forward to working with Michael," Lehmann said.

Yesterday shocked Australian Ashes squad members converged on the team hotel in Bristol, having woken to the news that Arthur had been sacked.

With the first Test just 15 days away, the side is reeling from a string of controversies and destabilising incidents.

Arthur appears to have been held responsible for the handling of disciplinary problems in India when four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, were stood down from the third Test, and two incidents involving David Warner during the Champions Trophy campaign.

Arthur was appointed in November 2011 after a brief stint as head coach of Western Australia.

He replaced Tim Nielsen, who was relieved of his job around the same time because of the review.

Sutherland has become increasingly frustrated with the discipline and performance of the Australian side in India and England.

He was understood to be upset that Clarke, Arthur and team manager Gavin Dovey had stood down the four in India and even angrier with Warner's continued indiscretions and the apparent unequal treatment of that player.

The move to sack Arthur took hold last week but his removal and the appointment of Lehmann had to be approved by the board, which met by telephone.

Sutherland had flown to England for an ICC meeting, but travelled to Bristol where he spoke with Pat Howard and Arthur on Sunday night. Those from the Australia A side who are in the Ashes squad were joined by other members, including Clarke, Watson, Warner and Brad Haddin last night.

News broke in Australia while the players slept and one cricketer told of discovering that the coach had been sacked when he checked Twitter while going to the toilet during the night. Others awoke to the news.

The sacked coach's contract does not expire until after the 2015 World Cup but he will be offered a job a the centre of excellence in Brisbane.

Stuart Law will take over Lehmann's role with Queensland.

Former wicketkeeper Ian Healy said the Argus review had created an "AFL footy club culture in cricket" and that sacking the coach was a reflection of that.

"Pacing players, rotating players, managing players is what clubs do, not the Australian cricket team," he said. "The whole approach is a backward step.

"The Australian cricket team use to treat every game as special and players would treat every game as their last, but now it's a matter of 'I won't play that one because it might affect my career down the track'.

"In India, players were given the biggest punishment in Australian cricket history. When the board dragged five players before it in the 1930s for not supporting Bradman, that was big stuff, but history is going to remember this and it is going to be embarrassing.

"The crime and the punishment and the comments of the CEO didn't add up with the Warner issue and now they have sacked the coach. He's probably the first person I can remember to be sacked. It would want to be for a good reason."

Former spinner Stuart MacGill said the team has to work out who is accountable under Lehmann: "Is this his team, his and Michael Clarke's team or Michael Clarke's team? Who is the boss of this team and who will be calling the shots."

MacGill asked why Clarke was not also held accountable.

"I'm curious that Michael has not lost his job, but not surprised he is no longer a selector as that was insanity and it is a gift to him to take it off him as now he will have more chance of connecting with the team," he said. "Still, he has to take some blame for all of this because it is his team and he has been riding all over Mickey."

Matthew Hayden, like MacGill and Healy, endorsed the appointment of Lehmann who is widely respected for what he has achieved in two years at Queensland. "This is now Michael Clarke's era," Hayden said. "He will be responsible for what happens now."

Arthur admitted last week there were still "trust issues" in the team, with Clarke and Watson's poor relationship at the centre of the problems.

The sense of chaos and reaching for short-term solutions in the current set-up was highlighted by the announcement that Fawad Ahmed is on the way home.

Cricket Australia lobbied the government to change legislation so the Pakistan-born leg-spinner would be available for the first Test.