Image courtesy of: The Guardian

Arthur was shocked to hear the sad news about his mother

It seems as if former Australia coach Mickey Arthur just cannot catch a break after his mother tragically died just days after he was fired and replaced by Darren Lehmann.

After being terminated, Arthur decided to fly back to South Africa, via Dubai, when he received the crushing news that his mother had passed away.

“It’s not a nice time for us as a family, but you know, that happens as well,” he said.

Arthur’s mother, who had reportedly been in poor health as of late, died in the town of Kimberley, which is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

Arthur put on a brave face for reporters after hearing the news about his mother and told them that while he felt absolutely “gutted” about being fired, he had not seen it coming.

“I was really, really shocked,” Arthur said. “I know we have had a few issues but I felt the team was moving in the right direction. I was confident in the team we had and felt the team discipline issue was getting there.

“I am gutted. I didn’t see it coming. I can look back at it and say I’ve chucked everything at it. I think I leave with a lot of professional pride, I think I leave with a lot of professional dignity.”

Everybody from Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to Arthur’s successor Darren Lehmann to Test captain Michael Clarke paid tribute to the 45-year-old for everything he had sacrificed to help Australia since taking over in November 2011.