"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a sense of satisfaction watching Babar play" : Mickey Arthur

[Abdullah719]

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a sense of satisfaction watching Babar play" : Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur speaking after the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka:

"To come back and see the crowd and to know what it means for Pakistan has been quite special"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a sense of satisfaction out of watching Babar play. He is in the top 4 in world cricket in any format now. If you don't get him out within 20 balls or so, he will punish you"

"Babar always had the class. From talking to him now, I get the feeling that he totally understands his game, he understands what he needs to do to score in all conditions and he believes he's the best in the world. I certainly think he's right up there, he's a pleasure to watch"

"The SL dressing room is filled with skilled cricketers but also good guys, very much like Pakistan. Colombo has been nice, it's a great city. I've watched a lot around SL cricket and they are very ambitious. They have a very good high performance programme and we have a very good support staff. It's going to be an exciting journey and one that I'm looking forward to"

"I miss the Pakistani boys, the dressing room, the support, the crowd, the passion, the noise, the chaos. It's a wonderful place to be and I'll never forget the 3 wonderful years I had here"

"Kumara keeps running in, he gets it up there. We tried to get him to angle it in, he's a skidder, he hits the deck hard. 'The gas-man'. I'm very impressed with the whole dressing room. I'm disappointed we didn't see more of Rajitha, he's a good bowler with a lovely action. Vishy Fernando also, all of them are different, it's a good combo. Lakmal isn't here due to a virus but there is some nice fast bowling depth here that you need. We have 2 more spinners in Embuldeniya and Sandakan. Rajitha's got a slight hamstring strain and we'll monitor that"

"Dhananjaya has a simple technique, he gets his weight through the ball and punishes bad balls, he's good against short balls. He has a great conversion rate. Kusal Mendis looks a really good player and we have Mathews and Chandimal. It's a nice squad with some depth, we have Thirimanne and Kusal Perera on the bench, Perera won SL the game in Durban against SA"

 

[Abdullah]

Always speaks from the heart.
Nobody can argue that hes hiding his love of Babar now

 

[marlonbrowndo]

We got lucky that Mickey was the coach when Babar was at his most vulnerable stage of development

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Poor Mickey has to hide his love now.

 

[Titan24]

I guess its pretty natural to have those feelings regarding a player who as a coach one has seen developed under him let alone him being of the quality of Babar so no need for Mickey to hide the feelings as far as he is doing his job with Srl as a true professional.

 

[emranabbas]

Wasn't the best coach but better than the current coach

Mickey was like family to Pakistan cricket team

 

[MenInG]

Hope Sri Lanka friends dont find this odd!

 

[BreadPakoda]

Hope Sri Lanka friends dont find this odd!

Exactly. He should get over it. Its already been a few months and he also has a new job.

 

[Shazzam]

Would love to see him back as coach.

 

[shaz619]

Hope Sri Lanka friends dont find this odd!

They shouldn't, imagine going for a job interview and getting a reference from your previous employer which suggests you're not capable of being a team player. The Lankans should rejoice that Mickey put his heart and soul into Babar, he can translate that same passion to the Lankan dressing room even if they are a bunch of jobbers at this stage, but remember Babar was a jobber once upon a time to and SL also won in Africa, so there is talent to be forged, just need the Mickey danda every now and then, those who will listen am sure will do well.

 

[Slim]

Mickey deserves all the credit for taking Babar to where he is today. Hope to see him back one day.

 

[daytrader]

He clearly misses the Pakistani team, maybe he can come back in the PSL.

 

[daytrader]

Mickey deserves all the credit for taking Babar to where he is today. Hope to see him back one day.

Not really. Mickey coached him for 3 years. Babar has been winning since U15.

 

[Ellipsism]

Not really. Mickey coached him for 3 years. Babar has been winning since U15.

Who persisted with him when everyone was calling for his head after he was averaging 20 or so after 10 test matches?

There have been a couple instances were he was exposed technically such as the NZ ODI series in 2018 and his first test tour to Aus, who helped him overcome those faults?

Mickey deserves a lot of credit for where Babar is today.

 

[Saj]

I sent Mickey a message the other day saying he looked better in green than blue

His reply "it felt good in green."

 

[coy0607]

Hope Sri Lanka friends dont find this odd!

Nothing wrong with praising an opposing player - especially given the circumstances.

I see nothing odd about an opposing coach saying what Mickey said

 

[BreadPakoda]

I sent Mickey a message the other day saying he looked better in green than blue

His reply "it felt good in green."

Hope anyone from the SLBC isn't reading this.

 

[hitthestump]

I sent Mickey a message the other day saying he looked better in green than blue

His reply "it felt good in green."

It's pretty obv that he cannot let go of his love for Pakistan cricket and he's expressing this through Babar. Geoff Lawson also fell head over heels for the country during his brief coaching stint.

Clearly there's something about Pakistan cricket that these Westerners love.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Bottom line is that Pakistan's test performance plummeted under Mickey. While the batting progressed in ODIs, Pakistan still lost about 10 games on the trot. Mickey didn't do any wonders.

By the way, I am sure he reads our posts.

 

[Slog]

Babar Azam has been earmarked for success and glory since he was 13 years old.

He was consistent and a huge run scored at U16, U17 and 19 levels as well. He was by all accounts the most talented upcoming Pakistani batsman and was judged so for a few years.

He scored a fifty on his international debut which was given by Waqar Younis.

No matter who the coach, Babar Azam is that good and more importantly that driven that he would have succeeded.

People will try to equate Umar Akmal but there is no equivalent. Neither was Umar Akmal ever that complete and nor did he have the work ethic to develop his game.

 

[andy0204]

Babar Azam has been earmarked for success and glory since he was 13 years old.

He was consistent and a huge run scored at U16, U17 and 19 levels as well. He was by all accounts the most talented upcoming Pakistani batsman and was judged so for a few years.

He scored a fifty on his international debut which was given by Waqar Younis.

No matter who the coach, Babar Azam is that good and more importantly that driven that he would have succeeded.

People will try to equate Umar Akmal but there is no equivalent. Neither was Umar Akmal ever that complete and nor did he have the work ethic to develop his game.

Half of the blame goes to team management as well they didn't handle Umar Akmal well.
If Pakistan gave more chances to him in test cricket Iam sure that he would have succeeded.

 

[Junaids]

It's pretty obv that he cannot let go of his love for Pakistan cricket and he's expressing this through Babar. Geoff Lawson also fell head over heels for the country during his brief coaching stint.

Clearly there's something about Pakistan cricket that these Westerners love.

I'm just the same.

My Lancashire compatriots David Lloyd and Mike Atherton are just the same.

Pakistan has had a bit of a lull caused by the Amir and Asif bans, but you basically normally always have an attack which can take 20 wickets overseas with quick bowling and legspin.

That makes Pakistan an exciting team to watch. Sure, Misbah has shown that if you don't get your best bowlers on the pitch you can be in a 589-3 declared situation.

 

[Slog]

Half of the blame goes to team management as well they didn't handle Umar Akmal well.
If Pakistan gave more chances to him in test cricket Iam sure that he would have succeeded.

No it’s about the attitude the player has and his work ethic.

I believe Babar Azam with same management would have delivered similar results to what he is doing now. It’s not like he is in a stable batting line up right now anyway.

 

[Salma_T]

It's pretty obv that he cannot let go of his love for Pakistan cricket and he's expressing this through Babar. Geoff Lawson also fell head over heels for the country during his brief coaching stint.

Clearly there's something about Pakistan cricket that these Westerners love.

Seems that way

 

[sl-fan-of-pak]

Hope anyone from the SLBC isn't reading this.

I'm a Srilankan