Experience of coaching Pakistan has been ‘fantastic’, says Mickey Arthur

Head coach hopes to inculcate best traits of South Africa, Australia into Men in Green

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has called his experience of coaching the Asian team fantastic and full of emotions, colour and intensity.

Arthur was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after former coach and bowling legend Waqar Younis resigned from his post after some dismal performances in the two limited-over formats.

“If I had to encapsulate it in one word, then it's been fantastic,” said Arthur as quoted by The Cricket Monthly. “I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Yes, it has been challenging. But I've thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had finished my career without coaching a subcontinent side, it would've been a glaring miss on my CV.”

He continued by explaining the roller coaster ride his time with Pakistan team has been and what he plans to achieve with the team in the future. “The passion, the intensity, the focus, the colour, the emotion — we've experienced that all this year, and what I'm trying to do is bring some stability, to bring standards, to bring high performance, to bring structure. And trying to just keep pushing our players to be the best they can possibly be. For me, that's the energy of the job.”

‘I’ve got lots to offer Pakistan’

Before working with Pakistan, Arthur had South Africa and Australia on his resume and he hopes to bring the experience of coaching both teams to help Pakistan become a better side.

“I feel I've come in [to coach Pakistan as] a far more experienced coach,” he said. “I feel like I've got so much to offer, to this structure, this country, this job. Because if I can bring the best of South Africa and the best of Australia and somehow fit it into this Pakistan side, the world's our oyster.”

On creating a legacy

Under Arthur, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy for the first time but for the South African, player and structural development takes precedence.

“I would like my legacy to be structure, or high performance, or standards, because ultimately you get those results from there,” he said. “More than wins and losses, to me player development and this excellent structure are the most important things. And that's how I'd like to be remembered. Wins and losses come and go. But ultimately you'll be remembered for the structure you brought in and the players that grew under you.”

‘Amir has been outstanding’

Mohammad Amir was trying to fathom his responsibilities in the teams after a comeback when Arthur joined the team and he believes the left-arm pacer has come a long way during his tenure.

“Amir has been outstanding,” explained Arthur. “I must admit, seeing him in England and seeing him now, he's a totally different character. In England he was very reserved, whereas now he is very much part of the team. He was finding himself as well. I'm incredibly fond of Mohammad Amir and I admire the way he's gone about it so much. He's just such an incredible talent with the ball.”

Arthur heaped more praise on the 25-year-old pacer by calling him a player who craves a big occasion and then makes sure he shines in that moment.

“What I do know about Amir is that he is a big-match player,” said Arthur. “The bigger the occasion, the more he rises to it. That is not prevalent in every player. A lot of cricketers in those big, big moments disappear. Amir doesn't. He wants those big moments. He craves those big moments. And generally, he's pretty successful in them.”