"I did not think Umar and Kamran Akmal could win games for Pakistan" : Mickey Arthur

[Abdullah719]

Mickey Arthur at a presser today:

"Both sides had a good hitout (in the first match) to be honest, I think both sides will be pretty happy with where we are at; Again, its starting from ball 1 in the next game so there is no psychological edge at all"

"I know the quality of Babar Azam, he is unbelievable and a really good player as well, so it didnt surprise me; We need to bowl well at them; The thing we have spoken about is to control the run rate a bit more, I feel they scored a bit too quick"

"Look it was a day 2 wicket so there was nothing in it but they probably scored a little bit too quick so we just need to control the run rate a little bit more"

"By building pressure is how we create opportunies"

"It was great and I was so happy that I could be back in the ground to witness Pakistan's first game at home in 10 years"

"That was very very special to me because Pakistan holds a very special place in my heart"

"The boys have been outstanding and I have been in contact with them, we always talk and have some banter, it was really good and I was very happy to be back in Pakistan"

"I do think conditions in Karachi will be different to what they were in Pindi so we will take our time in selecting a team that we think can take 20 wickets"

"Its got nothing to with that, its about Sri Lanka and Pakistan, its got nothing to do with Misbah and I, Misbah and I are fine - I respect Misbah a lot and I think he respects me and we have a great relationship so its certainly not about Misbah amd myself as there is a far bigger agenda here which is a Test match between 2 very proud cricket countries; its not about the cultures or support staff but it about players on the ground

"I am still getting to know the guys and how they play to see how they go about their stuff"

"so it all fairly new to me but what I do know is that its a fairly talented squad, there are some very talented players and I just hope we can go from strength to strength and just reel Australia and India back in so that we can put ourselves in the reckoning for that ICC WTC final"

(People were speaking against you, that you made it hard to make a place in the team for players like Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal - were u involved in liking & disliking in Pakistan) "There is no liking or disliking in any cricket team, you pick guys who can win game of cricket for you, I did not think Umar and Kamran Akmal could win games for Pakistan, I thought they had their time; I think Pakistan need to invest in these young players they have got, they have some very young fine players; So as a coach you select the best players and players you think are the best players that will win a game of cricket for you; The guys out side the squad are never happy but as a coach you cannot worry about the other people - you worry about the guys you have, you worry about the players you have, you worry about getting results for the team of the country you work for, and that was always my intention, always for Pakistan"

"Its blue now, it not green any more! Yes, I did say 'we' during my comments on Pakistan during Australia series because it was a genuine feeling and that was how it came out when I was watching that series because I was so, hopefully, impactful in that dressing room that I knew exactly what they were thinking in that dressing room. I know exactly how the guys think every day"

"I have reiterated a million times that the 3 years I had with Pakistan were incredible years - Pakistan is very very dear to my heart and - it really is"

"I loved every minute of my 3 years here so I did call them 'we' but now I am in the opposition dressing room and its 'they' and we have come here to win a Test match in Karachi"

"I am very happy to see Fawad Alam have a go to be honest, and one can see how long it was when he last played a Test match which was 10 years ago"

"That was before me and at time of other coaches and what happened 10 years ago that he didnt continue with his Test career, that wasnt my ambit when I arrived here - which was to develop young players, that was what we wanted to do"

"But its great for Fawad, I follow every score in the QeA Trophy and I have watched all scores to see who was playing well because I was genuinely interested to see Fawad do well and keep scoring runs. it was credit to him and his mental capacity, it was a credit to him to make sure he was the best he could possibly be so good on him"

"How good will it be if he made a comeback in Karachi which would feel like a debut in Karachi"

(You were criticised for not playing 2 spinners vs SL in 2017, were you surprised to see Pakistan do same in Pindi?) "[Laughing] Yes , I was to be honest!; At the end of the day, conditions might have said that and it would have been ironical as we considered playing 2 spinners there; so it would have been like, hang on, whats just happened here, they play all quicks and we play 2 spinners"

"Ultimately in the selection panel, you have to look at how best you can win the game, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt"

 

[Mirpur express]

good guy but unfortunately couldn’t stamp his authority.. or else he would still have been in charge of the team

 

[Captain caveman]

Umar and kamran are needed if we have any hope of winning next years world t20 in australia, along with a back to form shajeel and fakhar.

 

[ZamanFan]

Have stopped watching Pakistan team live since Arthur's exit and PCB's shameful decision to induct Misbah.

As he is now in a 2 year contract with Sri Lanka, its now important to accept and move on for him and for us fans as well.

Appreciate his support for Pakistani youngsters and sincerely working for Pakistan cricket and to stand against agent of corruption and nepotism, Inzamam ul Haq.

Arthur and Sarfraz both were a great combination that worked for Pakistan. He also showed us the value of a dedicated coach and the level of glorified nepotistic pompous ex-cricketers and failures like Misbah, Waqar Younis and Inzamam.

When Inzamam trying to support his mafia sent Umar Akmal for Champions Trophy despite failing a fitness test, Arthur standing against this mafia, taking fitness test and returning Akmal was the most sincere decision by a Pakistan coach in 10 years, something our local legends turn coaches never did and continued to block performers from the side.

If this uncle Mani had not been imposed on Pakistan cricket we would've fared really well in the World Cup and had a better ODI and Test team than where it is now. Unfortunately Mani destroyed our system and continues to bleed us.

 

[Markhor]

Mickey slapped that dumb question for six !

Tragedy when we removed this guy.

 

[topspin]

Mickey slapped that dumb question for six !

Tragedy when we removed this guy.

Point well made.

Funnily enough one of the hate brigade members on here wanted Mohsin Khan to be his replacement, at the start of the year

What's your assessment of Mohsin Khan as a coach?

 

[AFM]

100% record in Karachi as well

 

[Pete Rose]

The pressers on this tour basically resemble Jennifer Aniston being invited to Brad Pitt's wedding and being asked to comment on it.

Agree with his comments on the akmals.

 

[Titan24]

According to mickey Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal win matches for Pak. Ok fair enough.

-> How will Mickey explain giving Yasir Shah 10 matches before the WC? He couldnt win even a single match in LOIs even for his domestic sides in recent times, Mickey was expecting him to rip through Aus and Eng?

-> Which match Malik won against top 5 sides under Mickey? I dont remember many so if he wasnt winning matches why was he in the team let alone starting in the initial matches of WC?

-> What match winning capabilities were shown by Bilal Asif to be selected with a career bowling average of above 30-32 while Zafar Gohar and many others with actually match winning performances with much better records were ignored.

-> What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

I appreciate Mickey's opinion regarding certain players but contradictions of such level are disappointing.

 

[AdamM97]

According to mickey Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal win matches for Pak. Ok fair enough.

-> How will Mickey explain giving Yasir Shah 10 matches before the WC? He couldnt win even a single match in LOIs even for his domestic sides in recent times, Mickey was expecting him to rip through Aus and Eng?

-> Which match Malik won against top 5 sides under Mickey? I dont remember many so if he wasnt winning matches why was he in the team let alone starting in the initial matches of WC?

-> What match winning capabilities were shown by Bilal Asif to be selected with a career bowling average of above 30-32 while Zafar Gohar and many others with actually match winning performances with much better records were ignored.

-> What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

I appreciate Mickey's opinion regarding certain players but contradictions of such level are disappointing.

Blame Inzi chacha for that.

 

[Titan24]

Blame Inzi chacha for that.

Mickey Arther was the head coach and he is openly saying why he thought Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal couldnt win matches so obviously he had a role in other selections as well. He should have stood up if he though Yasir or other selections werent according to his policy.

 

[ZamanFan]

Mickey Arther was the head coach and he is openly saying why he thought Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal couldnt win matches so obviously he had a role in other selections as well. He should have stood up if he though Yasir or other selections werent according to his policy.

If he had say in selections how was Faheem Ashraf dropped from World Cup squad?
How did Umar Akmal play in April 2019 home tour against Australia where 6 players including captain Sarfaraz was dropped? How was Kamran Akmal selected in WI tour in 2017?

You harp on small petty issues while trying to hide Inzamam's pathetic tenure as chief selector. Can you tell me how many leg spinners sere selected for A tours by Inzamam, oh sorry they did not have many A tours. How many U 23 Emerging, can you please check what kind of resources that corrupt selector provided the team. How many batsmen Inzi selected to replace Hafeez, Asad Shafiq and Malik? For most of 3.5 years Inzamam only reserve batting selection was his camp boy Harris Sohail or Rizwan [when that joke Mani became PCB chairman and gave power to Inzi] to pressurize and make Sarfaraz insecure so that he bends to his will in which he succeeded and Inzi was in the Pak dressing room during World Cup match against India. For 4 yearts we never saw an opener reserve player, Inzi awarded opening slots to Ahmed Shehzad and nephew Imam as its their given right.

 

[Hawkeye]

According to mickey Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal win matches for Pak. Ok fair enough.

-> How will Mickey explain giving Yasir Shah 10 matches before the WC? He couldnt win even a single match in LOIs even for his domestic sides in recent times, Mickey was expecting him to rip through Aus and Eng?

-> Which match Malik won against top 5 sides under Mickey? I dont remember many so if he wasnt winning matches why was he in the team let alone starting in the initial matches of WC?

-> What match winning capabilities were shown by Bilal Asif to be selected with a career bowling average of above 30-32 while Zafar Gohar and many others with actually match winning performances with much better records were ignored.

-> What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

I appreciate Mickey's opinion regarding certain players but contradictions of such level are disappointing.

Spot on.

Mickey is an actor and always played to the gallery. Sweet talk expert.

There's a reason why he got fired from all his major coaching jobs.

 

[Khan12]

Great

At least he dropped yasir away in tests for Shadab while misbah wanted to see Yasir getting double hundreds. Why has your master selected kashif bhatti?. Let's not confuse the matter Mickey wasn't the selector unlike misbah. If Mickey was all the above would have been justified [MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION].

 

[Titan24]

If he had say in selections how was Faheem Ashraf dropped from World Cup squad?
How did Umar Akmal play in April 2019 home tour against Australia where 6 players including captain Sarfaraz was dropped? How was Kamran Akmal selected in WI tour in 2017?

You harp on small petty issues while trying to hide Inzamam's pathetic tenure as chief selector. Can you tell me how many leg spinners sere selected for A tours by Inzamam, oh sorry they did not have many A tours. How many U 23 Emerging, can you please check what kind of resources that corrupt selector provided the team. How many batsmen Inzi selected to replace Hafeez, Asad Shafiq and Malik? For most of 3.5 years Inzamam only reserve batting selection was his camp boy Harris Sohail or Rizwan [when that joke Mani became PCB chairman and gave power to Inzi] to pressurize and make Sarfaraz insecure so that he bends to his will in which he succeeded and Inzi was in the Pak dressing room during World Cup match against India. For 4 yearts we never saw an opener reserve player, Inzi awarded opening slots to Ahmed Shehzad and nephew Imam as its their given right.

At least he dropped yasir away in tests for Shadab while misbah wanted to see Yasir getting double hundreds. Why has your master selected kashif bhatti?. Let's not confuse the matter Mickey wasn't the selector unlike misbah. If Mickey was all the above would have been justified [MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION].

I am not a fan of Inzi the selector but coach and captain also have input in team selections and if they are confident enough they can ask for any player to be in the team and I doubt any chief selector would deny the request of coach and the captain.

I dont think even Mickey will use this excuse for poor performances that Oh, I was given the bad squad as you guys are saying. He just like any other coach had the say in the selections and if a coach cant convince the selectors with valid reasoning than he is always gonna struggle. If Mickey is such timid personality that selectors are forcing Yasir Shah, Abbas, Malik (In playin xi of WC), Bilal Asif etc than what is he doing in the field of cricket coaching?

Thing is Mickey didnt know about much of domestic players and performers and nobody other than maybe Abid Ali, Abbas, Imam, Faheem and Usman Saluhuddin was selected outside of PSL which is a glaring proof of the fact. Its easy to say, oh this guy couldnt win us a match but who will be looking out for the guys who can actually win you matches? Inzi is someone who thinks a wrist spinner is a match winner and he didnt take into account the quality which is required in LOIs and selected Yasir, what exactly was Mickey doing? Nothing much apparently and how could he as he didnt have many players in mind as he rarely followed domestic cricket where spinners like Zafar Gohar were playing. Yes leggies weren't there but if it was a necessity which it clearly wasntl Usama Mir had much more variety, better fitness and skills with the bat. All the leggies we are seeing now is because they were encouraged in national T20 cup.

These kind of selections happen when one guy, Inzi in this case trusts just the myths like Malik has experience so he will be handy, Off spinner is gonna rip through lefties of Aus and NZ, Abbas is gonna be a weapon in English conditions (Without realizing that conditions are completely different in LOIs in UK) and leg spinners are wicket taker without realizing Yasir doesnt have enough variations for LOIs. The other guy Mickey, doesnt know many players outside of PSL (And that is because he was the coach of KK so he was forced to look at the players) so he couldnt give any alternative names because he knew none.

If chief selector would have been better or Mickey would have been following domestic cricket maybe the combo wouldnt have been as big a mess as it was on occasions.

 

[Titan24]

You harp on small petty issues.

Loosing games is the biggest issue in any sport and poor selections played a role in record consecutive looses in ODIs so I am not sure whats petty here?

 

[Khan12]

I am not a fan of Inzi the selector but coach and captain also have input in team selections and if they are confident enough they can ask for any player to be in the team and I doubt any chief selector would deny the request of coach and the captain.

I dont think even Mickey will use this excuse for poor performances that Oh, I was given the bad squad as you guys are saying. He just like any other coach had the say in the selections and if a coach cant convince the selectors with valid reasoning than he is always gonna struggle. If Mickey is such timid personality that selectors are forcing Yasir Shah, Abbas, Malik (In playin xi of WC), Bilal Asif etc than what is he doing in the field of cricket coaching?

Thing is Mickey didnt know about much of domestic players and performers and nobody other than maybe Abid Ali, Abbas, Imam, Faheem and Usman Saluhuddin was selected outside of PSL which is a glaring proof of the fact. Its easy to say, oh this guy couldnt win us a match but who will be looking out for the guys who can actually win you matches? Inzi is someone who thinks a wrist spinner is a match winner and he didnt take into account the quality which is required in LOIs and selected Yasir, what exactly was Mickey doing? Nothing much apparently and how could he as he didnt have many players in mind as he rarely followed domestic cricket where spinners like Zafar Gohar were playing. Yes leggies weren't there but if it was a necessity which it clearly wasntl Usama Mir had much more variety, better fitness and skills with the bat. All the leggies we are seeing now is because they were encouraged in national T20 cup.

These kind of selections happen when one guy, Inzi in this case trusts just the myths like Malik has experience so he will be handy, Off spinner is gonna rip through lefties of Aus and NZ, Abbas is gonna be a weapon in English conditions (Without realizing that conditions are completely different in LOIs in UK) and leg spinners are wicket taker without realizing Yasir doesnt have enough variations for LOIs. The other guy Mickey, doesnt know many players outside of PSL (And that is because he was the coach of KK so he was forced to look at the players) so he couldnt give any alternative names because he knew none.

If chief selector would have been better or Mickey would have been following domestic cricket maybe the combo wouldnt have been as big a mess as it was on occasions.

No need to write essays. Just answer the questions. Was Mickey a selector? Does misbah have full authority? Why does misbah select rubbish? I don't need a history. I know who were the players picked blah blah.

 

[Waleed93]

And he was right. Both Kamran and Umar should be kept as away as possible from the team.

 

[Titan24]

No need to write essays. Just answer the questions. Was Mickey a selector? Does misbah have full authority? Why does misbah select rubbish? I don't need a history. I know who were the players picked blah blah.

In what world are you living in? Coach is part of the selection process even he isnt given the title of a selector. He was the head coach so fully accountable for the team's performances, blaming selection isnt the way it works as every coach has a say. He has indicated his policy as well about selecting only so called match winners.

 

[Shazzam]

According to mickey Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal win matches for Pak. Ok fair enough.

-> How will Mickey explain giving Yasir Shah 10 matches before the WC? He couldnt win even a single match in LOIs even for his domestic sides in recent times, Mickey was expecting him to rip through Aus and Eng?

-> Which match Malik won against top 5 sides under Mickey? I dont remember many so if he wasnt winning matches why was he in the team let alone starting in the initial matches of WC?

-> What match winning capabilities were shown by Bilal Asif to be selected with a career bowling average of above 30-32 while Zafar Gohar and many others with actually match winning performances with much better records were ignored.

-> What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

I appreciate Mickey's opinion regarding certain players but contradictions of such level are disappointing.

A lot of this is just a over reaction to a statement that he never fully explained. I am pretty sure there is more context behind why the two Akmals were not gonna win Pakistan matches.

 

[AdamM97]

Mickey Arther was the head coach and he is openly saying why he thought Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal couldnt win matches so obviously he had a role in other selections as well. He should have stood up if he though Yasir or other selections werent according to his policy.

Agreed. Although it was Inzi who wanted Yasir in the playing XI, Mickey should’ve stood up for himself.

 

[Markhor]

Point well made.

Funnily enough one of the hate brigade members on here wanted Mohsin Khan to be his replacement, at the start of the year

What's your assessment of Mohsin Khan as a coach?

That the PCB budget for PG Tips and Lipton went through the roof.

 

[The Viper]

Fair play to Mickey for keeping the Akmal bro’s out.

They would caused trouble and flopped anyway even if given a consistent run.

 

[Markhor]

According to mickey Umer Akmal and Kamran Akmal win matches for Pak. Ok fair enough.

-> How will Mickey explain giving Yasir Shah 10 matches before the WC? He couldnt win even a single match in LOIs even for his domestic sides in recent times, Mickey was expecting him to rip through Aus and Eng?

-> Which match Malik won against top 5 sides under Mickey? I dont remember many so if he wasnt winning matches why was he in the team let alone starting in the initial matches of WC?

-> What match winning capabilities were shown by Bilal Asif to be selected with a career bowling average of above 30-32 while Zafar Gohar and many others with actually match winning performances with much better records were ignored.

-> What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

I appreciate Mickey's opinion regarding certain players but contradictions of such level are disappointing.

Here we go with the police interrogation. Can you name me one coach in history of international cricket who never made a selection mistake in their tenure ? I could write pages full of blunders made by his predecessors Waqar and Whatmore, and Misbah now.

You ask why Mickey Arthur didn't watch more domestic cricket - well how much domestic cricket can you watch when you're on the road touring non-stop ? We hardly had a break in our crazy schedule from 2018 Asia Cup to 2019 World Cup. And Mickey operated under old departmental system of 16 teams, whereas now Misbah has a much easier task of monitoring domestic players with only 6 regional teams.

That's where the selectors need to be the coach's eyes and ears, and they produced inadequate options. You mention the spinners - Tauseef Ahmed was meant to be the spin guru on the selection panel. He would be far more informed on Pakistan's depth of spinners but he ignored youngsters like Zafar Gohar whilst okaying the selections of Yasir Shah in ODIs and Bilal Asif in Tests.

What skills were shown by Mohammad Abbas to be given a go in ODIs before the WC when definitely some better young bowlers can be tried?

There was a clamour for Abbas from many folks after his hot streak in Tests. Ironically he was dropped after that UAE series on dead roads despite the pitches for the 2019 World Cup being slow, damp and sometimes seam friendly which could've suited Abbas.

In the same series v Aus, Mickey debuted Mohammed Hasnain so untrue to say no young pacers were given a chance.

-> What match winning capabilities Faheem Ashraf showed with the bat in LOIs even in domestics to be considered a no 8 or 7 as an all rounder?

Faheem Ashraf was dropped for the 2019 World Cup after being given a fair run to demonstrate his abilities.

 

[Titan24]

Here we go with the police interrogation. Can you name me one coach in history of international cricket who never made a selection mistake in their tenure ? I could write pages full of blunders made by his predecessors Waqar and Whatmore, and Misbah now.

You ask why Mickey Arthur didn't watch more domestic cricket - well how much domestic cricket can you watch when you're on the road touring non-stop ? We hardly had a break in our crazy schedule from 2018 Asia Cup to 2019 World Cup. And Mickey operated under old departmental system of 16 teams, whereas now Misbah has a much easier task of monitoring domestic players with only 6 regional teams.

That's where the selectors need to be the coach's eyes and ears, and they produced inadequate options. You mention the spinners - Tauseef Ahmed was meant to be the spin guru on the selection panel. He would be far more informed on Pakistan's depth of spinners but he ignored youngsters like Zafar Gohar whilst okaying the selections of Yasir Shah in ODIs and Bilal Asif in Tests.


There was a clamour for Abbas from many folks after his hot streak in Tests. Ironically he was dropped after that UAE series on dead roads despite the pitches for the 2019 World Cup being slow, damp and sometimes seam friendly which could've suited Abbas.

In the same series v Aus, Mickey debuted Mohammed Hasnain so untrue to say no young pacers were given a chance.


Faheem Ashraf was dropped for the 2019 World Cup after being given a fair run to demonstrate his abilities.

Dont remember other coaches creating an embarrassing loosing streak in ODIs and leaving the team struggling at no 7 in tests. Yes we were once no 8 in ODIs and Mickey provided a mighty jump to no 6 by only beating the likes of WI, ZIM and Srl in ODI series while test team went from top to bottom.

Previous coaches didnt make statements like, I didnt select these players because I thought they couldnt win us matches when Mickey has literally created a loosing streak and lost ODI series to everyone except bottom teams and an exception of test series win over Aus. He could have answered the question better.

Yes coaches make mistakes but the way he is talking about selecting players who can win matches, either his team should have won matches against other teams or it is clear that his understanding of match winning abilities is not really good. I am not talking about who got chances or who should have, playing the likes of Abbas, Yasir Shah without any performances of theirs in domestic LOIs while talking about selecting players who can win matches are clear contradictions.

Yes Inzi and panel was poor with selections but so was Mickey for not following the domestic players. How hard it is to atleast invite the domestic performers to the nets, see the videos, highlights, have Pak A vs Pak B matches to see what they are capable of. Also it wasnt like Mickey was on road throughout the year, Pak wasnt playing as many matches as Ind, Aus or Eng.

End result was poor performances day after day so irrespective of the excuses Mickey as the head coach was accountable and there is not much in his defense other than trying to put blame on others. Yes journalists ask poor questions but he should avoid such random statements which dont make any sense and should say ask something about the series or Srilanka.

 

[topspin]

That the PCB budget for PG Tips and Lipton went through the roof.

This pretty much sums it up, but unfortunately this notable critic of Mickey holds a very low threshold.

 

[Saj]

The decision to sack Mickey was a last-minute one.

All along PCB hierarchy had said to Mickey that his contract was going to be renewed, but then......Misbah happened.

 

[Rinnegan Sasuke]

The decision to sack Mickey was a last-minute one.

All along PCB hierarchy had said to Mickey that his contract was going to be renewed, but then......Misbah happened.

Really telling on the professionalism or lack thereof amongst the PCB.

 

[Khan12]

In what world are you living in? Coach is part of the selection process even he isnt given the title of a selector. He was the head coach so fully accountable for the team's performances, blaming selection isnt the way it works as every coach has a say. He has indicated his policy as well about selecting only so called match winners.

I live in a world where I don't follow blindly. Same can't be said about you. When did I say Mickey didn't have a say in the selection. I said he didn't have the full authority like misbah does. So answer again please, why hasn't misbah picked zafar gohar? Why does he pick rubbish like ifti, imran etc. Stop running away. Mickey had his faults but was miles better then unqualified shameless misbah.

 

[Khan12]

The decision to sack Mickey was a last-minute one.

All along PCB hierarchy had said to Mickey that his contract was going to be renewed, but then......Misbah happened.

Misbah fits well as he's a puppet no wonder they hired him asap.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

To be fair leaving out everything else he's said he's right about the Akmals but could say Adnan wouldn't be a bad second choice for a wicketkeeper in tests only. Umar and Kamran throw their wickets away and are nothing but domestic players only, and besides even if they have scored runs they suck as fielders, you'd be crazy replacing Rizwan as wicketkeeper for Kamran or Umar.

 

[hitthestump]

I don't know if this statement is phrased in the same order in which he spoke, but it's pretty hilarious to see him talk unconvincingly about how 'he's in the opposition dressing room now' before literally going on to talk about how he follows every QeA score.

Like an ex-girlfriend who really didn't want it to end, it's going to take some time for Mickey to forget his love for Pakistan. Almost feel sorry for SL in the meantime, they aren't his first choice.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I don't know if this statement is phrased in the same order in which he spoke, but it's pretty hilarious to see him talk unconvincingly about how 'he's in the opposition dressing room now' before literally going on to talk about how he follows every QeA score.

Like an ex-girlfriend who really didn't want it to end, it's going to take some time for Mickey to forget his love for Pakistan. Almost feel sorry for SL in the meantime, they aren't his first choice.

Fact is he had that fool Inzi working with him otherwise thought he played a critical part in team's success in CT17.

 

[Rana]

Mickey’s main first team batting order,

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Hafeez
Harris
Malik
Sarfaraz
Faheem
Shadab


Hard to see UA break into this with his inconsistency. Kami would cost us big games with his poor keeping

 

[Markhor]

Dont remember other coaches creating an embarrassing loosing streak in ODIs and leaving the team struggling at no 7 in tests. Yes we were once no 8 in ODIs and Mickey provided a mighty jump to no 6 by only beating the likes of WI, ZIM and Srl in ODI series while test team went from top to bottom.

Actually I remember under our current bowling coach and Test captain that we were Banglawashed in 2015 for the first time in history, were embarrassed at the 2015 and 2016 World Cups and descended to 9th and 7th in the ODI and T20 rankings. Qualification for the 2019 World Cup was in jeopardy. Our fitness and fielding standards were abysmal even compared to a domestic side.

Yes there were losses but our bilateral ODI record has been poor for the last ten years, and at least there were signs of progress. We increased the number of 300+ scores vs the top 10 teams from 2 under Waqar to 14 under Mickey. We won a 50 over ICC tournament for the first time since 1992, and only missed out on 2019 World Cup semi-finals due to NRR despite having won 5 out of 9 matches including beating both finalists. We jumped to 1st in T20 rankings, while there was a period over several months where we outfielded and outcaught even South Africa and New Zealand !

Previous coaches didnt make statements like, I didnt select these players because I thought they couldnt win us matches when Mickey has literally created a loosing streak and lost ODI series to everyone except bottom teams and an exception of test series win over Aus. He could have answered the question better.

He didn't create anything, he inherited a shambolic ODI team that was 10 years behind the rest of the world. That mess needed more than 3 years to fix.

As for Tests, pray tell which coach wouldn't have struggled overseeing a tricky transition with Younis and Misbah's retirements, whilst facing a daunting overseas touring cycle, and having to work with a shambolic FC system that was only reformed after Mickey was gone ?

Yes coaches make mistakes but the way he is talking about selecting players who can win matches, either his team should have won matches against other teams or it is clear that his understanding of match winning abilities is not really good. I am not talking about who got chances or who should have, playing the likes of Abbas, Yasir Shah without any performances of theirs in domestic LOIs while talking about selecting players who can win matches are clear contradictions.

Maybe you can ask same question to Waqar who debuted 39 year old Rifatullah Mohmand in T20s months before a World Cup, and a serial international failure in Khurram Manzoor who embarrassed everyone during 2016 Asia Cup.

Yes Inzi and panel was poor with selections but so was Mickey for not following the domestic players. How hard it is to atleast invite the domestic performers to the nets, see the videos, highlights, have Pak A vs Pak B matches to see what they are capable of. Also it wasnt like Mickey was on road throughout the year, Pak wasnt playing as many matches as Ind, Aus or Eng.

He did invite them to the nets, but seeing a player in the nets versus a player in a competitive match situation is a totally different thing and Mickey's schedule between the 2018 Zimbabwe series and 2019 World Cup meant he was dependent on the selectors' judgement which let him down.

End result was poor performances day after day so irrespective of the excuses Mickey as the head coach was accountable and there is not much in his defense other than trying to put blame on others. Yes journalists ask poor questions but he should avoid such random statements which dont make any sense and should say ask something about the series or Srilanka.

He was absolutely right that Kamran and Umar Akmal have nothing to offer Pakistan cricket as was demonstrated by Junior's appalling show in the Sri Lanka series which we have to thank Misbah for.

 

[MenInG]

Mickey speaking to Pakistan players today

 

[Bewal Express]

Looks like they are still lots of love for Mickey

 

[Pete Rose]

He's a good man and safe to say that IMO we were a couple series away from getting it right under test cricket if he had continued. Ppl can debate this and that's fine.

Pakistan owes its white ball revival to him along with Babar Azam's rise. Special praise for sticking to his guns and keeping Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad out of the team.
Its a pity him and inzi couldnt do the same with hafeez and malik who cost him in the world cup

 

[Titan24]

I live in a world where I don't follow blindly. Same can't be said about you. When did I say Mickey didn't have a say in the selection. I said he didn't have the full authority like misbah does. So answer again please, why hasn't misbah picked zafar gohar? Why does he pick rubbish like ifti, imran etc. Stop running away. Mickey had his faults but was miles better then unqualified shameless misbah.

So Misbah in his second test series achieved success while Mickey only won one series in last 2 years of him as a coach. I believe in performances not in personalities. Misbah dropped Ifti for the squad against Srl and Imran didnt play a match in the series. Yes his selections need to improve but atleast he has been trying to learn from mistakes.

You said that you dont live in a world where you follow someone blindly and yet you are overlooking the performances of Mickey Arther as the coach of Pak side in terms of results.

I have already criticized Misbah's for his 3-4 selections and will continue to point out the mistakes just like I did with Mickey.

 

[Titan24]

Actually I remember under our current bowling coach and Test captain that we were Banglawashed in 2015 for the first time in history, were embarrassed at the 2015 and 2016 World Cups and descended to 9th and 7th in the ODI and T20 rankings. Qualification for the 2019 World Cup was in jeopardy. Our fitness and fielding standards were abysmal even compared to a domestic side.

While no doubt that was a pathetic performance but Pak went with finished Ajmal, Junaid along with few ordinary youngsters and Waqar and Azhar definitely deserve the blame. Not to forget in the same season BD won series against India and SA and actually played some good cricket. However, coach is now Misbah and Azhar is the captain of completely different format and only for time being.

Yes there were losses but our bilateral ODI record has been poor for the last ten years, and at least there were signs of progress. We increased the number of 300+ scores vs the top 10 teams from 2 under Waqar to 14 under Mickey. We won a 50 over ICC tournament for the first time since 1992, and only missed out on 2019 World Cup semi-finals due to NRR despite having won 5 out of 9 matches including beating both finalists. We jumped to 1st in T20 rankings, while there was a period over several months where we outfielded and outcaught even South Africa and New Zealand !

I have never denied that Pak LOI team improved under Mickey however, not as much as its hyped on PP. We were only able to beat WI, Srl and Zim in an ODIs series. CT 17 and T20 rankings were no doubt memorable successes.

As for Tests, pray tell which coach wouldn't have struggled overseeing a tricky transition with Younis and Misbah's retirements, whilst facing a daunting overseas touring cycle, and having to work with a shambolic FC system that was only reformed after Mickey was gone ?

I dont buy the excuse that every coach would have lost the home series against Srl and NZ. Yes transition was difficult but it was exaggerated by poor plannning.

Maybe you can ask same question to Waqar who debuted 39 year old Rifatullah Mohmand in T20s months before a World Cup, and a serial international failure in Khurram Manzoor who embarrassed everyone during 2016 Asia Cup.

Again Waqar isnt the coach now and he didnt have the luxury of PSL.

He did invite them to the nets, but seeing a player in the nets versus a player in a competitive match situation is a totally different thing and Mickey's schedule between the 2018 Zimbabwe series and 2019 World Cup meant he was dependent on the selectors' judgement which let him down.

These kind of blame games dont work in competitive environment of cricketing world. He should have been more involved and could have done more research.

He was absolutely right that Kamran and Umar Akmal have nothing to offer Pakistan cricket as was demonstrated by Junior's appalling show in the Sri Lanka series which we have to thank Misbah for.

Maybe not but this statement shows he was involved in who comes into the team. So whats the reason for Yasir, Abbas, Saad Ali etc playing matches vs Aus and again Yasir going to Eng for thrashing. Again we are supposed to put the blame on others. Mickey couldnt even judge Yasir after 5 matches against Aus? What about persisting with Malik till jeopardizing the WC?

Mickey was doesnt for LOIs but he was nowhere near the coach he is hyped by some.