Shane Watson hits back at Michael Clarke's 'tumour' comment

Michael Clarke and Shane Watson during the 2013 Ashes Test series

Shane Watson has hit back at former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, who described him as being "like a tumour" on the team.

The release of Clarke's autobiography has refocused attention on his 2013 sledge against several cricketers including Watson during the Ashes tour.

He described the group of players as "like a tumour and if we don't fix it, it's going to turn into a cancer".

Watson said the comments revealed more about Clarke than anything else.

Speaking at an event in Melbourne on Tuesday, the retired all-rounder and former team vice captain said he wanted to put the altercation behind him.

"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," Watson said.

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The incident between Clarke and Watson was part of the "homework" saga, when Watson was one of four players sent home from a Test match in India for not completing a task set for them by the coach.

According to leaked court documents, sacked coach Mickey Arthur claimed he was caught up in a row in which Clarke called Watson "a cancer" on the national side.

In an interview earlier this week, Clarke clarified his view on those events.

"I said that there is a number of players, a group in this team at the moment, that are like a tumour and if we don't fix it, it's going to turn into a cancer."

Asked if that applied to Watson, Clarke replied: "Shane was one of those players, yes."