Mitchell Johnson: We were not a team under Michael Clarke

Captain Michael Clarke (left) with pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson during the Birmingham Test of the 2009 Ashes at Edgbaston. Pic/Getty Images

Captain Michael Clarke (left) with pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson during the Birmingham Test of the 2009 Ashes at Edgbaston. Pic/Getty Images

Sydney: Michael Clarke's time as Australia captain has come in for further criticism after his former teammate Mitchell Johnson described a "toxic" atmosphere within the team under his leadership. Johnson also claimed that some players did not want play for Australia under Clarke, who retired from international cricket after losing the Ashes last year."

The 73-Test quick, who was one of four players banned amid the Homework-gate saga during the ill-fated tour of India in 2013, suggested the Australian team became fractured after Clarke took over the Test captaincy from Ricky Ponting in 2011. "The dynamics definitely changed," Johnson told Fox Sports News Australia. "It wasn't a team. There were different little factions going on and it was very toxic. "It just built very slowly but everyone could see it, everyone could feel it and nothing was being done at that time. So it wasn't a very enjoyable place to be and you're supposed to be enjoying yourself when you're playing for your country. It was a pretty bad experience, bad time, a couple of us didn't want to play.

"Even some of the young guys coming through could see it a mile away and they didn't enjoy it, they said: 'state cricket is so much more fun'." Johnson revealed his own relationship with Clarke had been tarnished after his ban for failing to do his homework during the 2013 India tour. "I didn't take it too well," he said. "I guess the relationship was pretty strained at that point of time within the team - I definitely felt like an outsider."

All 'booked'
Johnson is the latest on a growing list of Clarke's former Australia teammates to hit out at his leadership following the release of the 35-year-old's biography earlier this month. While publicising the book Clarke admitted in a television interview that the behaviour of some players during the 2013 tour of England was "like a tumour".

Australia coach Mickey Arthur was sacked just days before that Ashes series, and in subsequent legal documents it was reported he had claimed Clarke had described his former vice-captain Shane Watson as a "cancer" on the team. "For me I think it was more a reflection of the person he is more than what it was directed towards me," Watson said last week. In the end it is really disappointing that things like that start to come out two or three years later on when we are all very content in retirement."

Former opener Simon Katich also cast doubt on some of Clarke's claims about their well-publicised dressing-room altercation at the SCG in 2009, saying that he was "obviously trying to sell a book."

Communication issue
Clarke did enjoy seminal moments of success as Australia captain, most significantly the 2013-14 Ashes whitewash and the 2015 World Cup. On both occasions his vice-captain was Brad Haddin, who backed Clarke's leadership in a column on Cricinfo this week, writing: "Watson had a difficult time as Michael's deputy because they did not have the same open relationship to discuss things that I was fortunate enough to have."