There has been a school of thought that the South African was not tough enough to oversee the generational change in the Australian team,and he has been made responsible for a team culture that has gone backwards this year.
The latest examples were David Warner’s twin run-ins with trouble - first on Twitter,then in a bar in Birmingham - which led to the opener being suspended until the first Test at Trent Bridge.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland was furious at Warner’s conduct and understood to be also angry at the handling of the bar-room affair - in which Warner punched England’s Joe Root - by team management.
The decision comes as all of Australia's squad converges for the first time in Taunton in England on Monday,for their first pre-Ashes tour match,against Somerset beginning on Wednesday.