Mickey Arthur released from Central Stags coaching contract [Update Post #26]

[Rellu_Katta]

He’s coached Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. Now one of the world’s most experienced international coaches is coming to coach New Zealand champions the Central Stags.

Mickey Arthur was today announced as the Central Stags’ T20 Coach for New Zealand’s national Super Smash competition this summer.

The powerhouse signing will look to stimulate a strong, settled Stags squad that has made the Super Smash Grand Final for a record-equalling three consecutive seasons, and is looking to go back-to-back for the first time in 2019/20.

Said Arthur, “I am really looking forward to joining up with the team at Central Districts.

“I have always admired New Zealand cricket and to work in the system is going to be very exciting. This is a great opportunity for me and I can’t wait to help the Central Stags defend the title, but also, to contribute to an environment of excellence and enhance the skills of the cricketers.”

Arthur coached South Africa from 2005 to 2010; Australia from 2011 to 2013; and Pakistan from 2016 until this year. Under his watch, South Africa achieved a number one world Test ranking and beat England in a series for the first time in four decades, as well as achieving their maiden series victory in Australia.

In T20 franchises around the world, Arthur also brings a world of expertise to CDCA. He has coached the CPL’s Jamaica Tallawahs, the Bangladesh Premier Leagues’ Dhaka Dynamites and Pakistan Super League’s Karachi Kings.

As a player, Arthur chalked up 110 first-class matches and 150 List A one-day matches in a South African domestic career that spanned a decade and a half, between 1986 and 2000.

Central Districts Chief Executive, Pete de Wet said he is thrilled to have Arthur on board for an exciting season, following an extensive global search by Global Elite Sports.

“This is a significant day for CD cricket and for the Central Stags,” said de Wet in Napier today.

“Mickey is a world-class coach who most recently oversaw a Pakistan team now ranked No. 1 in the world in T20 cricket. With our talented group of players, we know that Mickey will positively impact our group.

“With an ICC T20 World Cup on the horizon, this is a well timed investment that we hope will see more Stags representing New Zealand in the BLACKCAPS in Australia next year.”

Arthur’s first assignment with the Central Stags will be the opening match of the season on 13 December 2019, against last year’s beaten finalists the Knights: a big home match between the fierce rivals under lights at Napier’s McLean Park.

CDCA Manager, High Performance Lance Hamilton said Arthur’s appointment will benefit the entire organisation.

“What an exciting time for both our players and support staff alike to work alongside a coach of Mickey’s calibre,” Hamilton said.

“With our main focus on development of players for NZC, this appointment will definitely enhance those strategic priorities for our organisation as a whole.

“We are looking forward to Mickey bringing an international intensity to our group which will hopefully challenge, but also reward, our players and staff.”

Perth-based Arthur will link up with the Stags in Lincoln on 26 November, during The Ford Trophy one-day campaign that will be coached by CDCA Coach: Performance and Talent ID Aldin Smith.

Arthur will be an observer for the centralised rounds on 27 and 29 November, supporting coach Smith. Arthur will then take the reins on 1 December for the Super Smash campaign in his capacity as T20 Head Coach.

The Stags are New Zealand’s defending champions in both the first-class and Super Smash arenas. They will begin their quest for a rare first-class Plunket Shield threepeat on 21 October, with Smith also to coach the first-class squad this season.

 

[Markhor]

So much for the argument Mickey would not get a job anywhere else other than Pakistan.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

So much for the argument Mickey would not get a job anywhere else other than Pakistan.

might want to read the title ... T20 coach for a NZ domestic side ...

 

[Markhor]

might want to read the title ... T20 coach for a NZ domestic side ...

I read it - I'm saying some Mickey critics were arguing he wouldn't get a job anywhere else.

However clearly the current NZ T20 champions rate him high enough to appoint him as coach. Good move, look forward to monitoring his progress.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

I read it - I'm saying some Mickey critics were arguing he wouldn't get a job anywhere else.

However clearly the current NZ T20 champions rate him high enough to appoint him as coach. Good move, look forward to monitoring his progress.

Lmao, it's a very low tier team. What a fall.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

Micky Arthur is a great coach ... he did a lot of right things.. and he has coached big teams... i think he deserves better than just a domestic T20 team... he is much better than that ...

 

[Shazzam]

Good luck to Mickey. He was our fine coach.

 

[The Viper]

Good luck Mickey.

Coaching T20 teams will be less stressful also,

 

[Slog]

What a fall from grace.

 

[Slog]

Micky Arthur is a great coach ... he did a lot of right things.. and he has coached big teams... i think he deserves better than just a domestic T20 team... he is much better than that ...

He failed at all these big teams too.

This is a very low end job on the cricketing spectrum.

Where would the NZ T20 league rank?

1. IPL
2. Big Bash
3. PSL
4. CPL
5. English t20
6. BPL
7. Ram Slam T20

Would it be just below these or even below the Canadian ones?

 

[MenInG]

I feel this is his way of eventually getting the NZ national side coaching job

 

[Danyaalr01]

He failed at all these big teams too.

This is a very low end job on the cricketing spectrum.

Where would the NZ T20 league rank?

1. IPL
2. Big Bash
3. PSL
4. CPL
5. English t20
6. BPL
7. Ram Slam T20

Would it be just below these or even below the Canadian ones?

The Canadian one shouldn't even be counted. There's no point of a bowler in that league, it's like playing on Astroturf, may as well have a bowling machine. Same with CPL, they make the pitches so flat and the boundaries so short.

 

[Mamoon]

The New Zealand League is as rubbish as PSL, but this doesn’t mean that Mickey is not in demand at the international level. If rumors are to be believed, he has been shortlisted by England as well.

Nonetheless, this doesn’t change the fact that he is extremely overrated.

 

[Aman]

He failed at all these big teams too.

This is a very low end job on the cricketing spectrum.

Where would the NZ T20 league rank?

1. IPL
2. Big Bash
3. PSL
4. CPL
5. English t20
6. BPL
7. Ram Slam T20

Would it be just below these or even below the Canadian ones?

Towards the bottom, if not the bottom.

I actually wish some rich Asians put some money into a NZ league but it probably wouldn't work due to the time difference.

I don't think they broadcast all the games here either, it's just the odd game here and there the last time I saw it.

 

[ads101]

He's enjoyed a lot of success in England with us, hence not surprised he's considered there. People are going to look and say if he could do that with a pak team in england, imagine what he could do with an english team in england.

He'll probably never be wanted by an asian team, given his terrible record in asia though.

I don't think he's a bad coach, but he wasn't suited for us. No idea what to do in asian conditions, language barrier. Disconnection with Pak domestic. He might have done better with another country.

His conduct was thoroughly unprofessional with Pakistan too, though I wonder maybe he was just going through a tough time.

And while an experienced coach, I believe that was the first time coaching an asian side. Maybe he'll learn from his mistakes if he ever gets the chance again (which I doubt he will for an asian side).

 

[Danyaalr01]

The New Zealand League is as rubbish as PSL

The PSL has better players, all of Pakistan's international players play it plus some foreigners. The Super Smash is just NZ domestic players and maybe a couple of games will have international players, and there are very little foreigners. It's like calling the Ashes as rubbish as a Bangladesh Zimbabwe test series. Super Smash is rubbish because NZC don't want to focus too much on T20 cricket and would rather give their own players a chance rather than bringing in big foreign players for viewership.

but this doesn’t mean that Mickey is not in demand at the international level. If rumors are to be believed, he has been shortlisted by England as well.
Nonetheless, this doesn’t change the fact that he is extremely overrated.

How do you know if he is a good coach or not, are you at all the practices and team talks? He had trouble in Pak because some people didn't cooperate and the media makes a big deal out of everything.

People say Mickey didn't pick any spinners during his tenure, but that's not his job. His Job was to coach whoever Inzi gave him, whether it was Imran Khan or Babar Azam, and to talk to Sarfaraz about strategy and team selection.

 

[Mamoon]

The PSL has better players, all of Pakistan's international players play it plus some foreigners. The Super Smash is just NZ domestic players and maybe a couple of games will have international players, and there are very little foreigners. It's like calling the Ashes as rubbish as a Bangladesh Zimbabwe test series. Super Smash is rubbish because NZC don't want to focus too much on T20 cricket and would rather give their own players a chance rather than bringing in big foreign players for viewership.

PSL has better player pool but if suffers due to other factors such as the substandard pitches in the UAE which is as boring as T20 cricket can get, and the empty stadiums worsen the experience.

If PSL comes back to Pakistan on a full scale without compromising the presence of the likes of de Villiers, Watson etc., it has the potential to become a very good league. However, at the moment, I find it to be very average.

The Super Smash doesn’t have overseas players but the New Zealand grounds and pitches are ideal for exciting T20 cricket, plus some of the fielding is breathtaking, which is something you can expect from New Zealand cricket.

However, I would agree that exciting cricket etc. is ultimately subjective, but considering all factors, I would put the Super Smash and PSL on an equal footing based on how I perception of quality T20 cricket.

How do you know if he is a good coach or not, are you at all the practices and team talks? He had trouble in Pak because some people didn't cooperate and the media makes a big deal out of everything.

People say Mickey didn't pick any spinners during his tenure, but that's not his job. His Job was to coach whoever Inzi gave him, whether it was Imran Khan or Babar Azam, and to talk to Sarfaraz about strategy and team selection.

I didn’t have to be at the practice sessions and team talks because the poor results speak for themselves.

Good coaching is not just about what you transmit to the player but also what you are able to extract from them.

You can be the most knowledgeable coach in the world, but if you are unable to make the players play better, you are ultimately useless. If you keep blaming the lack of quality of players and other external factors, there will be no accountability.

As a coach, your job is to produce results in spite of these factors and not provided excuses for failing because of these factors.

Every experienced or qualified coach in every sport has vast knowledge of techniques, tactics and strategies, but only the truly great coaches are able to get the best out of his players and make them improve. That is the difference been a mediocre coach and a great coach.

Mickey talked a good game and identified the weak spots of Pakistan cricket, but he was unable to translate it into results. We just didn’t see his talk in action on the field.

He was not able to get struggling players out of their rut. Fakhar and Hasan essentially won him the Champions Trophy, but when they hit a wall, he failed to motivate them to their previous level.

Azhar completely declined after Younis and Misbah, Shafiq remained a 1 in 10 innings wonder, Sarfraz batted like a tail-ender for two years, Amir went missing between the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, Yasir’s form declined somewhat and even Abbas lost it after the Australian series.

All of this happened on Mickey’s watch. As a professional coach, he probably identified the reasons why the above mentioned players were not delivering, but also as a professional coach, he simply failed in helping them turn things around.

As far as the spinners issue is concerned, I have no reason to believe that Mickey had no part in the one specialist spinner strategy for UAE Tests that simply wasn’t working.

Firstly, Sarfraz was part of the success in the UAE under Misbah, and there is no reason why he wouldn’t opt to continue with the same tactics when they were working reasonably well.

Secondly, Mickey has been greatly influenced by his time in South Africa and Australia as well Bob Woolmer who achieved good results with Pakistan but disliked playing two specialist spinners. He ran Kaneria into the ground to forcefully trying to fit in Malik and Afridi in the Test XI, when it was clear that they were ODI specialists.

Thirdly, if Mickey wanted two spinners but was getting vetoed by Inzamam, he should have communicated to the PCB instead of copping the blame and the criticism for the defeats.

Did he? I don’t know, but what I do know is that it didn’t work, because the strategy didn’t change and Pakistan kept losing.

Also, it’s not as if he has never had his way. He got Hafeez dropped for the Asia Cup but we were utterly humiliated anyway, and Hafeez promptly returned to the squad.

I agree that the media in Pakistan is relentless especially against foreign coaches. However, the only way you can keep them at bay is by producing results, which Mickey didn’t have the capacity to do so.

We kept losing in Tests and played like an associate-level team in ODIs in 2018. Mickey got what he deserved. Was our accountability selective? Absolutely, because along with Mickey and Inzamam, Sarfraz was also responsible for the failures, and he didn’t even have his individual performances to fall back on.

 

[Markhor]

What a fall from grace.

Central Stags are current FC and T20 champions.

A fall from grace would be running straight back to the commentary box after multiple failed coaching tenures like certain ex-coaches.

 

[Justcrazy]

He probably looking for Kiwi national Team job. I do not think any Interanational team would hire him.

 

[Slim]

Mickey is a really good coach. Its criminal how the Waqar fans on here under-rate him.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Good luck to him.

 

[muqarrab]

Mickey is a really good coach. Its criminal how the Waqar fans on here under-rate him.

Based on what?

 

[sweep_shot]

All the best to Arthur.

I think he is not a bad coach but maybe he underachieved with Pakistan.

 

[Mamoon]

Mickey is a really good coach. Its criminal how the Waqar fans on here under-rate him.

Waqar is a pathetic coach, but Mickey has only succeeded with one team and his methods didn’t work for Australia and Pakistan. If he is underrated he only has himself to blame.

 

[Savak]

Take out the CT win and the guy has nothing on his record. The T-20 ratings should also be taken with a pinch of salt given how Pakistan plays its premier 11 in this mickey mouse format while most other teams rest their senior players in bilateral T-20 games and use it for testing their bench.

 

[MenInG]

MICKEY ARTHUR GRANTED RELEASE FROM CONTRACT


Central Districts Media Release


He was born in Dannevirke at the heart of Central Districts, before a childhood move to Perth. When he finally returned to New Zealand to reignite his international cricket aspirations, he would represent Wellington en route to becoming a star for the BLACKCAPS.

Now, Luke Ronchi will finally be decked out in the green and gold of the Central Stags for the first time in his extensive career — as the team’s newly appointed Assistant Coach for this year’s Dream 11 Super Smash.

T20 star Ronchi is joining the coaching staff for the Stags’ New Zealand title defence after CDCA agreed to release Mickey Arthur from his Head Coach contract, while coach Aldin Smith — who has been guiding the Stags through the first-class Plunket Shield and one-day Ford Trophy campaigns — will step into the head role for the T20s that begin on Friday night, 13 December in Napier.

Internationally renowned coach Arthur had been appointed in September to coach the Stags solely in this season’s T20 campaign, but has requested a release from his contract which CDCA has granted.

Commented CDCA CEO Pete de Wet, “Mickey is a great cricket coach, and a top guy, and I wish him well in his next assignment.

“We are obviously disappointed that Mickey requested a release from his contract as he would have brought his extensive experience and energy to our campaign — something that we were really looking forward to.

“However, we are confident that Aldin is well placed to add the T20 campaign to his current scope as Interim Stags Coach for this season, and we are excited to announce that Luke Ronchi is joining him on the coaching staff as Assistant Coach to contribute his specialist expertise to our Dream 11 Super Smash campaign specifically.

“Luke brings with him an absolute wealth of experience in the T20 format both as a respected international player and coach, and is excited to be linking up with the Stags for the imminent trophy defence.”

Ronchi packs a lengthy CV as a player, having the special distinction of having represented both Australia and the BLACKCAPS, as well as playing in the major T20 cricket franchise leagues around the world — including stints with the Mumbai Indians, Perth Scorchers, County sides Somerset, Warwickshire and Leicestershire as well as the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The 38-year-old made his BLACKCAPS debut in May 2013, going on to play all three formats for his country of birth and fashioning a reputation as one the world’s most aggressive wicketkeeper-batsmen.

He retired from the BLACKCAPS in June 2017, but rejoined the national team in April this year when he was appointed on a short-term contract by NZC as fielding and wicket-keeping coach for the team’s impressive 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign.

Ronchi will join the Central Stags in Napier next week where the side will go into camp ahead of their opening fixture at McLean Park on 13 December. CDCA has announced the Dream 11 Super Smash season opener — a rematch with beaten Grand Finalists the Knights — will be free admission to celebrate the Stags’ 2019 championship victory earlier this year.

The Stags have been Super Smash Grand Finalists for three consecutive seasons, and reigning first-class champions for the past two seasons.

 

[Hawkeye]

Sad for him.

Fired from I think all the major coaching jobs.

 

[AFM]

Sad for him.

Fired from I think all the major coaching jobs.

He’s getting the SL job

 

[Hawkeye]

He’s getting the SL job

Yes, I meant all the existing ones. SL officials fell for the cheesy words.

 

[Slog]

He’s getting the SL job

I’ve seen this in all walks of life.

Some people are great interviewers and when they pitch themselves you would think they are the best hire you’ll ever make. But soon after hiring them you realize that you made a terrible mistake and how useless the hire is. Eventually the hire is let go but then he goes to interview at another job, sells the same chooran he sold to you and manages to get another gig. The whole process repeats and then they are fired again. However eventually everyone catches up and then they are truly exposed for good.

 

[JaDed]

I’ve seen this in all walks of life.

Some people are great interviewers and when they pitch themselves you would think they are the best hire you’ll ever make. But soon after hiring them you realize that you made a terrible mistake and how useless the hire is. Eventually the hire is let go but then he goes to interview at another job, sells the same chooran he sold to you and manages to get another gig. The whole process repeats and then they are fired again. However eventually everyone catches up and then they are truly exposed for good.

Its common in US esp in management, I have been in projects where the whole management has been changing every 2 years.

Another thing is is how all of them leave at the same time together to another company, similar to here with SL job because they are used to working with each other.

Thing is it takes about 2 years to realize how bad the decision was.

Unlike technical, where you can question and make them code, management all you can do is ask what you did etc..which can be highlighted or painted as needed.

 

[MenInG]

Awkward time coming up in Pak v SL Tests if Arthur there! I can just imagine him being asked endlessly about coaching Pakistan etc!