Mickey Arthur : What can he do to reverse our ODI and T20 fortunes?

[Slog]

While the tests series draw in England was great a lot of that had to do with the fact that had developed into a very solid side under Waqar anyway who did a good job in transforming a test side which hadn't won a series in 2+ years.

But we were pretty poor in ODIs before Waqar (albeit some marquee series wins but terrible lows aswell) and there was no improvement under Waqar either

Waqar was let go due to disagreements with the board but on a cricketing level it was due to the poor WT20 2016.

This tells us that Mickey Arthur was hired to fix the limited overs team rather than do anything about the well performing test team.

The shellacking today and this series in general where we have hardly been in any game for even a stretch of few overs, has fully exposed how weak the team is and the miracle it needs.

What can Mickey Arthur realistically do?

He won't win much plaudits for doing a job with an already solid test team.

His performance as Pak coach will be judged on where he can take us in ODIs

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Get rid of Hafeez, Azhar, Malik.

Be patient with young players with potential.

 

[Justcrazy]

You need to get rid of non performing players , and be patient with those with potential.

You cannot change a 9th ranked team into top three in matters of weeks. A lot of damage has already being done.

 

[Slog]

In his interviews and press conferences he seems he will wield the danda

 

[Hasan123]

Hopefully he can advise pcb on how develop players at grassroots level also.

 

[endymion248]

In his interviews and press conferences he seems he will wield the danda

Nobody can wield danda on Pakistanis. Very dheet qaum.
I predict he will run back with his tail between his legs long before the end of his contract.

 

[Cricketrenew]

NOOOOOOO not Umar Akmal again how many times....
A tested failure.....someone new please Mickey.

I can't see Mickey Arthur lasting in this job....Pakistani to clever for him.

 

[90MPH]

At least get rid of the dead wood:

Wahab Riaz - just too erratic with his no balls and line and length. Unless they change the rule back to 1 white ball per innings he's useless.

Shoaib Malik - way past his prime and very suspect against any decent pace bowler.

Azhar Ali - just not suited for one day cricket. And his captaincy though not that bad as some say it's still lacklustre and not inspiring.

Umar Gul - bowled well today but he's not consistent enough and his pace has gone down.

Not sure how much influence he will have though but he needs to change the mindset and get more all rounders. We don't need amazing bowlers for his format but we do need batsman that can score fast and bat deep.

 

[Justcrazy]

He can work only when Inzamam supports his views.

 

[*syed59*]

Our main problem is ancient batting which is not going to be solved by selecting itsy bitsy, hyper tullaybaaz.

My same old suggestion is to select solid TEST batsman in ODIs as well at positions 1-4 with focus on improvising to scoring fast, like Root, Williamson and Amla have been doing for last 5 years in their teams.

Then have people like Akmal(after rehabilitation), or Maqsood or Hafeez to bat at positions 5-7 as pure sloggers but who can also accumulate if needed.

At 8th - a batting all rounder.
9-10-11 bowlers.

Whatever Mickey does, hope he finds sanity

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Hire a fast bowling coach.

 

[BabarAkmal_Fan]

He should do the following:

Ban from Tests: Mohammad Hafeez
Ban from ODIs/T20s: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, and Azhar Ali

Keep on a tight leash: Yasir Shah in ODIs

Introduce to Test squad: Pick 2 of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim for #6 position
Introduce to ODI squad: Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Haris Sohail, UMAR AKMAL, Sohail Khan, AAMIR YAMIIN
Introduce to T20 squad: Fill the whole batting lineup with hitters. Only one accumulator: Sarfraz Ahmed

 

[ask_analyse_act]

2 main things. On words or paper it sounds like the least but they are the recipe for success...

1.Take positives out of every series and build up on it...
2.Stop chopping and changing after every win or loss, stick to the team and the roles of the players. It will be easy to decide who can do it and who cant...


Looking on this ENG series, only three players the captain, vice captain and Immad have scored atleast 2 50s in 4 games...rest of the batting line up least to no contribution.

Bowlers Amir (fair with him on drop catches) and Irfan in the only game he had, Hasan ali not good, need to do lot of work to continue playing int'l level.

Negatives: Wahab, Yasir and Malik has to go enough said about them...cant live with their one off performance in every 5 match series..shows they need to play on the conditions that suit if not they make their place a vacant spot and doing more damage to the team being in the 11...

Guys to stick with Babar, Sami, Sharjeel, hasan ali, Immad

Last chances Hafeez, Gul, Rizwan, Nawaz.. Why hafeez and gul because hafeez dropped/injured just after 1 game not fair enough to drop him and Gul got only 2 games and he did quite well in both if we compare to the likes of wahab and yasir...

Just find the replacements for the negatives, give last opportunities one more series see if they level up to guys to stick with or find their way to end up in negatives..If Im Mickey is the way to go for me...

 

[Slog]

big series

i like that he willing to give the danda to the players. They need that

 

[CricketAnalyst]

I will admit that prior to his taking the Pakistan job, I had a poor opinion of Mickey Arthur because of how he did with the Aussies and the fact that being SA coach he had dull negative, conservative strategy.

However he also seems to be a barometer for cricket strategy in general. He's very competent at executing mainstream ideas and the fact that he has been so vocal about aggressive cricket is a sign that Asian mentality about aggressive cricket has been left in the dust by the Western teams. You can see it even in the commentary; for Asian commentators, it's a race to the bottom to criticize aggressive batting in stronger terms, whereas Aussies usually are much more hesitant to critique attacking play and the Englishmen have gone the other way having learnt from their failures. Now Hussain, Vaughan etc will under no circumstances criticize aggresive batsmen, even for slogging ball one to long on.

Coming back to Arthur, he has consistently spoken out against old-school batting and actually as the series went on, you could see the shift in mentality and that even Azhar was trying to score at 100 SR towards the end. He is creating a change, and even more unbelievably, he actually appears to be convincing the Pakistan players and higher-ups that this change is needed. If he stays another two years, he will transform Pakistan's mentality to ODI cricket, which will cause a phoenix like rise from the Ashes.

Just as I predicted Bangladesh won't be a minnow for long, and that SA's results will collapse soon, I am saying now that if Arthur stays for two years Pakistan will again be a force in LOI cricket. Mark the prediction.

Another prediction. India will have a brief but horrendous ODI decline till we catch up. With Pakistan changing mentalities, India will be the only team stuck in 2007 mode of limited overs cricket. It will take a while for us to catch up. The reason is that however poor our strategy, the guys executing it are so incredibly good at batting, that they will continue to win a few matches and only after a while will we wake up and smell the coffee.

 

[Slog]

Report card?

 

[ask_analyse_act]

yes report from mickey.. 3-0 tests done, 5-0 ODI awaiting already 1-0...lets see

 

[Slog]

So asides from successfully burying our previously consistent Test side.

ODI fortunes...

 

[vandokkum]

Resign

 

[Shafi]

He should leave. Foreign version of M Khan. A drama queen and loud mouth

 

[sam_ahm]

Watch some domestic competitions, pick up the right talent and groom them properly. He cannot simply be a puppet Mickey.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

So asides from successfully burying our previously consistent Test side.

ODI fortunes...

You honestly think any other coach would have had a different result in the last 5 tests?

 

[Slog]

You honestly think any other coach would have had a different result in the last 5 tests?

We wouldnt have lost WI test

NZ were green mambas so maybe not but I am sure there would have been less likelihood of losing 8 wickets in a session on the final day and turn a certain draw in a loss

Aus I think we wouuld have snuck a draw in one of the matches

Most def we were a mentally stronger test side.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

He can start off by asking the board to get rid of this joke of a captain recommended by Waqar and Misbah

 

[shaz619]

Mubarak ho Slog bhai Time to Bring Back Waqar so we can reach the great heights he took us to never mind Mickey's progress since joining the team since the England tour If am honest with you, I expected him to help us clean sweep the Test Series and ODI's in AUS

 

[Slog]

Mubarak ho Slog bhai Time to Bring Back Waqar so we can reach the great heights he took us to never mind Mickey's progress since joining the team since the England tour If am honest with you, I expected him to help us clean sweep the Test Series and ODI's in AUS

What is Mickey's progress?

 

[shaz619]

What is Mickey's progress?

We have been unbeaten since he joined, I expected that 6-7 months from the moment he was signed

 

[Slog]

We have been unbeaten since he joined, I expected that 6-7 months from the moment he was signed

Yes. Enjoying the #6 Test rank :arthur

 

[arehaan]

Mickey Arthur was a nightmare during last PSL and why on earth he was picked despite having a poor try out is beyond me.

 

[waleed88]

Time to go back to Mohsin Khan, he was the only one who is honest about our cricket.. his whitewash against England in his coaching times is unprecedented in terms of coaches.. no coach has ever done that in his first assignment

 

[ask_analyse_act]

give him the power to choose his team and captain then you can own him up for any loss. He got rid of hafeez in his first series and he came back via back door clearing his suspect bowling action and he is yet to take a wicket with his new action. He didnt want Sohail, Imran JR .. very clear from him he doesnt want them in tests but he gets them again and again, he is reluctant to put them in starting 11 too..Not one many issues he wants to step in and correct but being stopped.. now after 2 matches he stopped hafeez from grabbing the no.3 from babar which i liked a lot..

 

[Hamza_]

^It was Management which called Hafeez.

 

[static]

Nothing. The problem runs too deep, unless its corrected from the roots, Pak cricket will languish at the bottom.

 

[Markhor]

Arthur inherited a weak and unsettled ODI team that were going to lose in Australia no matter who the coach was.

He needs time to evaluate the domestic talent which he hasn't had so far in his tenure being on the road non-stop.

Under Waqar Guardiola we lost home and away to New Zealand, were whitewashed at home to Australia, lost to England and were whitewashed in Bangladesh. There was no consistency in selection and were tactically inept. It takes time to reverse that damage.

 

[Slog]

Arthur inherited a weak and unsettled ODI team that were going to lose in Australia no matter who the coach was.

He needs time to evaluate the domestic talent which he hasn't had so far in his tenure being on the road non-stop.

Under Waqar Guardiola we lost home and away to New Zealand, were whitewashed at home to Australia, lost to England and were whitewashed in Bangladesh. There was no consistency in selection and were tactically inept. It takes time to reverse that damage.

Well going by Arthur's single minded destruction of our proud Test record (first ever Pak team in HISTORY to lose six tests in a row), I would advise you to not hold much hopes

 

[Slog]

Mickey Arthur was a nightmare during last PSL and why on earth he was picked despite having a poor try out is beyond me.

its the Umar Akmal conundrum

the guy failed (at #6 in Akmal's case) but the solution is to give him more responsibility (make him open despite never having done so)

 

[imranyounus]

when ever you let non performing players continue it results in lack of interest from other players as well. we have good young players. if a player is not able to establish himself in 5 years than let him go there are sufficient resources. a year a go we were crying that there is no player to replace Ahmed shazad and now we have found 2 good players in shargeel and Babar.

so let go the obsession with Umar Akmal there are planty of young players out there like Babar and Shargeel.

drop umar Akmal, Shoaib,

 

[Markhor]

Well going by Arthur's single minded destruction of our proud Test record (first ever Pak team in HISTORY to lose six tests in a row), I would advise you to not hold much hopes

Arthur merely joins the long line of Pakistani coaches and captains who've been battered and bruised down under. If Waqar had stuck around for these tours he'd have experienced the same fate. Australia whitewashed a stronger ODI team in New Zealand before this series so the result is not surprising.

But if you want to talk about single minded destruction of a team let's look at the facts.

Before Waqar returned in 2014, we had won four out of our last five bilateral series and reached the final of the Asia Cup. Under Whatmore we won away in South Africa, India and West Indies plus the 2012 Asia Cup. Under Waqar we won a meagre 3 out of 10 ODI series and two of those were against Zimbabwe.

So this ODI team has been in a rut for years. Now we have four ODI assignments this year - WI away, Champions Trophy, Bangladesh away and Sri Lanka, if we're still struggling then of course Arthur will be held accountable. But I doubt he'll end up with as dire a record as his predecessor.

 

[Slog]

Arthur merely joins the long line of Pakistani coaches and captains who've been battered and bruised down under. If Waqar had stuck around for these tours he'd have experienced the same fate. Australia whitewashed a stronger ODI team in New Zealand before this series so the result is not surprising.

But if you want to talk about single minded destruction of a team let's look at the facts.

Before Waqar returned in 2014, we had won four out of our last five bilateral series and reached the final of the Asia Cup. Under Whatmore we won away in South Africa, India and West Indies plus the 2012 Asia Cup. Under Waqar we won a meagre 3 out of 10 ODI series and two of those were against Zimbabwe.

So this ODI team has been in a rut for years. Now we have four ODI assignments this year - WI away, Champions Trophy, Bangladesh away and Sri Lanka, if we're still struggling then of course Arthur will be held accountable. But I doubt he'll end up with as dire a record as his predecessor.

Nice twisting of facts

No Waqar wouldnt have made a record of losing 6 tests in a row.

and his ODI legacy is WC SF and QF being knocked out to eventual winners on both occassions

 

[Seamer]

We need to have these players in West Indies

1. Shahzaib Hasan
2. Haris Sohail
3. Amir Yamin
4. Shadab Khan

 

[Markhor]

Big spanner thrown in the works with this fixing scandal. Mickey must be thinking what kind of circus he's joined. Hasn't even been a full year mate

An unenviable position right now.

 

[Hamza_]

I seriously feel sorry for Mickey Arthur. Don't know what would be going through his mind.

 

[Sub-Zero]

1- Fire Mickey
2- Play without any head coach, they are useless
3- Hire 3 Pakistani coaches for batting, bowling and fielding
4- Enjoy success

 

[Sub-Zero]

give command to Sarfraz, and play the team like gully cricket with muhalla team, only then we will be successful like Quetta

 

[Hasan123]

Hope that Pakistan players use there brain on and off the pitch.

 

[Slog]

Big spanner thrown in the works with this fixing scandal. Mickey must be thinking what kind of circus he's joined. Hasn't even been a full year mate

An unenviable position right now.

Feel bad for him and the team

While I don't think of his tenure as a success so far I have always been impressed with his handling of Sharjeel and how he has given Sharjeel all the support to perform at his optimum level.

Its a shame that Pakistan team coaches too often have to end up in situations which no other coach would have to face in their wildest imaginations. Whether it be top players banned due to fixing, top bowler being banned due to bowling action, mysterious injuries or something else. We have it all covered!

 

[Hamza_]

Feel bad for him and the team

While I don't think of his tenure as a success so far I have always been impressed with his handling of Sharjeel and how he has given Sharjeel all the support to perform at his optimum level.

Its a shame that Pakistan team coaches too often have to end up in situations which no other coach would have to face in their wildest imaginations. Whether it be top players banned due to fixing, top bowler being banned due to bowling action, mysterious injuries or something else. We have it all covered!

Indeed, He has been very well with Babar and Sharjeel even handed both of them test caps. Can't imagine what he would be going through as he seemed close to the players.

 

[shaz619]

Feel bad for him and the team

While I don't think of his tenure as a success so far I have always been impressed with his handling of Sharjeel and how he has given Sharjeel all the support to perform at his optimum level.

Its a shame that Pakistan team coaches too often have to end up in situations which no other coach would have to face in their wildest imaginations. Whether it be top players banned due to fixing, top bowler being banned due to bowling action, mysterious injuries or something else. We have it all covered!

Wow, [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] on the same page; I took a picture of this little exchange and saved it in me gallery

Lets be honest guys, find the greatest coach on earth and even for them it would be incredibly tough to revive Pakistan cricket; it's the toughest job across all sports when it comes to coaching/management in my honest opinion.

Be it Waqar or Arther for me both are great and can flourish in environments which are not so volatile, but when in the lions den you're faced with unique obstacles; who has ever had to deal with such a set up where roles are not defined, players are constantly having a hell in a cell match between each other or with those in positions of authority higher then them, fixing, ensuring the rehabilitation of fixers who have sinned with a big target on their back, dealing with a team which can't play at home, a domestic structure where the backstabbing/politics/unprofessionalism is at its peak ,

a chairman which constantly makes ridiculous comments and is almost 100 years old , an associate of the chairman who allegedly is corrupt and is a bit of a diva, a captain who is 42 years old because he's the only sensible person we could find to deal with our suicide squad out of a population of nearly 200 million and fans who come to conclusions on a game to game basis. Which coach in their right mind would want to coach such a team? and which sane person would not understand the challenges the man appointed to sort all these problems single handedly faced ?

 

[Markhor]

Wow, [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] on the same page; I took a picture of this little exchange and saved it in me gallery

Lets be honest guys, find the greatest coach on earth and even for them it would be incredibly tough to revive Pakistan cricket; it's the toughest job across all sports when it comes to coaching/management in my honest opinion.

Be it Waqar or Arther for me both are great and can flourish in environments which are not so volatile, but when in the lions den you're faced with unique obstacles; who has ever had to deal with such a set up where roles are not defined, players are constantly having a hell in a cell match between each other or with those in positions of authority higher then them, fixing, ensuring the rehabilitation of fixers who have sinned with a big target on their back, dealing with a team which can't play at home, a domestic structure where the backstabbing/politics/unprofessionalism is at its peak ,

a chairman which constantly makes ridiculous comments and is almost 100 years old , an associate of the chairman who allegedly is corrupt and is a bit of a diva, a captain who is 42 years old because he's the only sensible person we could find to deal with our suicide squad out of a population of nearly 200 million and fans who come to conclusions on a game to game basis. Which coach in their right mind would want to coach such a team? and which sane person would not understand the challenges the man appointed to sort all these problems single handedly faced ?

Its an uneviable position. Our local coaches have a hard time dealing with the politics of Pakistan cricket so I cannot imagine how much of a culture shock it must be for foreign coaches. You can't trust the players, you can't trust the board, you can't trust the media which is full of bitter ex-players ready to stick the knife in at a moment's notice, you can't trust the domestic system to produce the talent required and you're coaching a team that doesn't even play at home as you mention.

Since the Sharjah Test vs WI, what could go wrong has gone wrong. However the fixture list has been kind. With all due respect to West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - if there was a time to blood in young players, and replacements for Sharjeel/Latif given they're likely to kiss sayonara to their careers - these series represent the ideal opportunities to do so.

Who Arthur/Inzy pick is intriguing. I hope they don't go back to Shehzad as they may be tempted to. A lot depends on who performs in this PSL.

 

[cricketInsight]

He needs to change the culture of our cricket to focus on higher strike rates and only allow one or two accumulators in the side.

He started by backing Sharjeel & Akmal but its back to square one now.