Mickey, the new Arthur of Pakistan’s chapter

The 47-year-old's track record as coach is full of exhilarating highs and some depressing lows

The World T20 wreck consumed the captain, the coach and the selectors. But after making some logical and some not-so-logical decisions, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had to endure a long and draining process before securing a head coach as replacement for the departing Waqar Younis.

Mickey Arthur wasn’t a widely tipped choice; he wasn’t topping the pecking order for the PCB either but after some ‘high profile’ names pulled out of the race, Arthur was perhaps the only choice left.

His track record as a coach is full of exhilarating highs and some depressing lows, both with his native South Africa and Australia where he is currently based — coaching teams in Perth.

The end of his tenure with both top-tier Test nations was not ideal; leading Protean as well as Australian players accused him of ‘complicating the procedures’ and forcing his way through with his headstrong persona.



On the contrary, leading members of the Pakistan Super League franchise Karachi Kings —Arthur coached with scant success in the inaugural edition of the league earlier this year — feel that he took a backseat and remained content on going with the flow as the most expensive franchise in the event crashed out of the play-offs without a whimper.

But rarely are experienced figures in top-class sport baggage-free. And Arthur is no different.

Post Bob Woolmer; Arthur helped the Proteas maintain their stranglehold in the Test format, presiding over wins in the sub-continent including a 1-0 victory against the Shoaib Malik-led Pakistan in 2007.

Malik who also captained Karachi before relinquishing the captaincy as the team limped through the qualifying round had also been accused of ‘dubious’ performance by Arthur in the final ODI of the 2007 tour that Pakistan lost from a seemingly impregnable situation.



But the hatchet is buried now, or at least that’s what the claim is from both sides. Malik will be an important cog in the wheel for Arthur in the white-ball formats as Pakistan aim to curb the steep decline that has placed them at the bottom of the rankings both in ODIs and T20Is.

For Arthur to succeed, he would have to get a quick understanding of the cricket culture in Pakistan which is at times is incredibly infuriating for a foreigner.

The constant media glare and extreme reactions to both victories and defeats is a sub-continental trait that isn’t easy for someone unaccustomed to such histrionics.

Arthur’s first test is the arduous English tour; Pakistan have four Tests and five ODIs to play against a rampant England gunning for two consecutive Test series defeats to Misbahul Haq’s charges on the UAE dustbowls.



Dustbowls won’t be on offer in London — Lord’s and Oval — or Birmingham and Nottingham where Pakistan are to play the four Tests.

ODIs will be equally tough if not a tougher proposition for Arthur and ODI skipper Azhar Ali with the threat of condemnation to the qualifiers for 2019 World Cup looming large for the presently number nine ranked team each time they take the field before the September 2017 cut-off period.

Arthur also has the task of choosing a support team (coaching staff) ahead of the England tour. Grant Flower, who served as batting coach under Waqar, is likely to be retained for the tour but the bowling and fielding coach slots are up for grabs.

There are still three weeks to go before Arthur arrives to take charge of the team, there’s thus plenty of time for him to plan, strategise and set goals for both his and Pakistan’s return to glory.

For now, let’s welcome Arthur with open arms; soon he will be treading on a rocky path that has severely tested the best in the business before him.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2016.

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