Spare a thought for Mickey Arthur

[Pete Rose]

He was handed a stable test team by Waqar and ably captained by Misbah and managed to unexpectedly draw against Ashes winning England and the english press was gaga over his second coming.
He lost a few points as we were walloped by England in the odi series in 2014.
He came back to England in 2017 and we won the CT.

The was talk in the english and australian press about how well mickey has worked to turn around Pakistan. Supposedly being mused (without any real chance) of being a coach for India, who were shopping for a new coach at the time.

He could have left Pakistan cricket at that time post CT and gotten plum coaching gigs in other leagues and somewhere in the English set up.

Instead Pakistan cricket did to him what it does to everyone else, dragged his name through the mud and left his post Pakistan career shredded to bits.

This is not a lament or a support thread, but I just find it very funny that he could have quit after two years of coaching pakistan cricket and thought of as some kind of guru who tamed the ungovernables. hehe

 

[Plumb]

Excuse me???Mickey is the reason we are here. Couldn’t produce a spinner,allrounder or batsmen. Instead we got lucky with some random psl performers.. all he talks about is fitness nothing else.

 

[Savak]

Mickey Arthur is an incompetent conman. He has failed in every coaching stint, Graeme Smith carried him in the South African team. Don't be fooled by his press conferences and interviews. He has nothing to show for himself, to be honest even his fitness crusade looks to be a farce now given how unfit a lot of the players in our team are.

 

[Pete Rose]

Excuse me???Mickey is the reason we are here. Couldn’t produce a spinner,allrounder or batsmen. Instead we got lucky with some random psl performers.. all he talks about is fitness nothing else.

it would be good if you read what i wrote and not the title of this thread.

 

[shockbound]

He reminds me of Indian-Greg phase, except that they got rid of him pretty quickly while we were caught in the white-dude mentality.

Fitness is important when you be Sarfraz thick. Else, we saw very clearly what a bellied Rohit Sharma did today. Fitness is NOT that important, brain/skills/game/technique/temperament are.

 

[Pete Rose]

He reminds me of Indian-Greg phase, except that they got rid of him pretty quickly while we were caught in the white-dude mentality.

Fitness is important when you be Sarfraz thick. Else, we saw very clearly what a bellied Rohit Sharma did today. Fitness is NOT that important, brain/skills/game/technique/temperament are.

hehe. fitness not important because rohit is fat.....and the rest of their squad is not.

 

[KimiRaikonnen]

Mickey has done a good job..it is not his job to produce batsman and bowlers from the crappy domestic structure we have. That is what Miandad/Haroon Rasheed/Bari etc have been pocketing millions for over the years and they have produced nothing.

Also...a coach can only plan and advise..he does not go out and play for the mental midgets in the team.

Frankly, Pakistans urdu media and its followers deserve a chump like Mohsin Khan (i beat england 3-0) and not a professional like Mickey.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I have tried to support Mickey as I have always agreed with his interviews, but he has picked some strange teams. He must have input into which players are picked for the squads, and I don't think he's managed it well. The middle order has been horrible, and we had no new ball strategy other than pick reverse swing specialists and hope they could translate that into new ball skills somehow.

 

[in_cutter]

Excuse me???Mickey is the reason we are here. Couldn’t produce a spinner,allrounder or batsmen. Instead we got lucky with some random psl performers.. all he talks about is fitness nothing else.

Yes because it is Mickey’s job to create talent right?

Where are the grass root academies? Where are the facilities?

 

[in_cutter]

I have tried to support Mickey as I have always agreed with his interviews, but he has picked some strange teams. He must have input into which players are picked for the squads, and I don't think he's managed it well. The middle order has been horrible, and we had no new ball strategy other than pick reverse swing specialists and hope they could translate that into new ball skills somehow.

When Misbah was captain, he was getting blamed for picking bad teams not the coach? Why not the same for Sarf?

 

[Savak]

Mickey Arthur is happy to go home. I don't think he has given a damn about the team for a while now.

 

[Boi]

He tried his best to change the culture but unfortunately our cricket’s problems are too deep-rooted for just a coach to make any difference.

 

[Hasan123]

Done with Mickey. I thought he would do a lot more to kick these seniors out. But he has stood there and let them carry on. His statements when it comes to our players are pathetic. He also has no idea about how to use specialist spinners. We all know how important they are with India showing us that today.

 

[Abdullah719]

He needed to be firmer with getting rid of Malik, if not Hafeez.

His poor knowledge of spinners has been costly.

On another note, Mohsin Khan a little while ago on PTV Sports was letting everyone know that he is 'available' to 'offer his services'.

 

[Plumb]

Yes because it is Mickey’s job to create talent right?

Where are the grass root academies? Where are the facilities?

Go and check his press conference when he was hired. I would keep an eye on doestic talent and make sure we pick the best talent instead he cashed psl

 

[Greenstorm]

Mickey should continue.

 

[ali061091]

If he was to leave after the world cup then he'd be considered a reasonably successful coach due to the Champions trophy. Sports is all about winning trophies.

I'd be happy if we get trashed left right and centre but win an icc tournament, whether that'd be T20 world cup, Champions trophy or the 50 over world cup every now and then.

Pakistan cricket is funny in the sense that a lot goes on behind the scenes and this is the reason we can never have that consistency like other teams.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

He's a pretty clueless coach. No wonder he was fired by Australia.

 

[topspin]

Mickey Arthur is an incompetent conman. He has failed in every coaching stint, Graeme Smith carried him in the South African team. Don't be fooled by his press conferences and interviews. He has nothing to show for himself, to be honest even his fitness crusade looks to be a farce now given how unfit a lot of the players in our team are.

Fans like you deserve Waqar Younis and Misbah combo.

For months we've been hearing from you how Amir "has no place in the ODI side". Now we will watch this backfire spectacularly.

Be careful for what you wish for - Mark my words, once Mickey is gone, we'll have a Waqar or a clone of equivalent calibre, who will appoint a captain of the mould of Misbah and Azhar Ali. I can promise when that day comes, you will change your tone.

You need to stop being so short sighted with your analysis and think all these issues out more thoroughly.

 

[gazza619]

The real issue here is and was Inzi Sarfraz combo.

These two have con their way to damage our chances. Mickey was the lesser evil i think. He was the yes man as he gets a decent pay cheque including the IPL perks.

Having said i am happy to see him go. We need a Pakistan coach.

 

[Slog]

Mickey Arthur is an incompetent conman. He has failed in every coaching stint, Graeme Smith carried him in the South African team. Don't be fooled by his press conferences and interviews. He has nothing to show for himself, to be honest even his fitness crusade looks to be a farce now given how unfit a lot of the players in our team are.

So glad to know you are accepting it and calling him out for the con artist he is.

He destroyed out proud test record in UAE and has been on a one man mission to destroy our cricket in general.

He hasn’t spared domestic level either and has a PSL job. Just raking in as much money as he can.

We won CT17 inspire of him not because of hin

 

[topspin]

Once the WC campaign is over for Pakistan, I will be posting a thread with detailed analysis, citing all the main culprits. For now I can tell you one of them isn't Mickey. He's an easy scapegoat for short-sighted fans.

 

[Slog]

Once the WC campaign is over for Pakistan, I will be posting a thread with detailed analysis, citing all the main culprits. For now I can tell you one of them isn't Mickey. He's an easy scapegoat for short-sighted fans.

He’s not easy target.

He’s been given more leeway than any coach in Pakistan history.

A person who holds two jobs and cannot be honest with one cannot devote enough time for betterment of the national team

 

[Pete Rose]

The real issue here is and was Inzi Sarfraz combo.

These two have con their way to damage our chances. Mickey was the lesser evil i think. He was the yes man as he gets a decent pay cheque including the IPL perks.

Having said i am happy to see him go. We need a Pakistan coach.

While it was not the point of my thread, i mean it more tongue in cheek, I do want to address the dilemma faced by coaches in pakistan.

In my opinion mickey arthur is still haunted by his experience with Australia; he took a firm line with the players and the board didnt back him.
When he came to Pakistan his first challenge was to transition Misbah and Younis out of the test team. After the 2014 England test tour both these players should have retired (I should I wasnt a fan of them going to England, but both made runs in the first and the last test to justify their selection - even if they failed in the second and third test - but never mind this is Pakistan this kind of mediocrity of failing in 6 innings and succeeded in one is considered good). He couldnt speak up or convince anyone in the board to bench misbah and younis for the tour to australia - both of them went for vanity reasons and didnt really do anything win the series, but rather to score soft runs after losing the series).


Of course the CT17 stuff is already written about it, but it has been clear for more than a year that neither malik nor hafeez should have been in the UK. We have seen them fail in 2014 in england, in 2016 in Australia, in south africa, against Australia at home, against england before this tour. Of course ppl will argue that hafeez has gotten some runs, but ppl dont get it- to play a 40 year old in a world cup, he must have the pedigree of a dhoni, not hafeez). So, in the world cup squad he should have objected to malik and hafeez's presence. But my feeling is he kept quiet because sarfaraz wanted them on board - partly due to the pressure from the local press an partly due to the fact that cricket administration changed.

So while I think Arthur has to accept some blame, I feel that he is scarred by what happned in Australia and doesnt want to rock the boat here.

Ppl will say he should leave, etc etc if he cant. But I want to remind the very same ppl that we were told Dav Whatmore is a no nonsense coach who will be tough and he should have been chosen instead of geoff lawson. The same was said about Mickey as well, that he is gonna be tough.

The reality is that PCB doesnt have a spine. It wilts under pressure because of the press. Look at how they handle press criticism in India - the BCCI just doesnt give any access to the players, so the press is pliant there.

I hope mickey sticks around but for that he needs to start saying the things which i feel he has held is tongue on - his job is already hanging by the thinnest of threads.

 

[shockbound]

hehe. fitness not important because rohit is fat.....and the rest of their squad is not.

Some of the players are not that fit in squad. They are more skilled however.

 

[saeedhk]

One of the worst coaches ever. Totally lacks match awareness and a horrible tactician. There is a reason why he was twice relieved of his duties.

He is only good at sugarcoating our defeats and fooling the masses.

 

[BaankeJi]

Sorry but Mickey cannot be blamed for this horror show.

 

[chinaman00]

Mickey is one of the culprits but one has to keep perspective. Pakistan’s abysmal performance in the 2007 World Cup probably triggered Bob Woolmer’s heart attack. Despite Woolmer’s many attempts to change the psyche of the team, they still crushed out in the first round; even losing to Ireland. The truth, which most Pakistanis aren’t willing to accept yet, is that the state of sports says a lot about a country.

Hockey and cricket and their dismal decline parallels closely Pakistan’s own failure as a state- it speaks of structural collapse. Pakistani players of old had an excellent command of the English language and were competitive among other things. Today’s players can’t speak the language, are out of place among their international peers, and are extremely mentally weak. Changing the coach, captain and players is the easy part, solving societal problems that lead to the creation of out of shape, illiterate and lethargic players will be the hard part.

My own observations of Pakistanis mirrors the problem we see with the Pakistan cricket. Pakistani students that I went to school with, for the most part, were serial cheaters, had no interest in the classes except the grade, and were always late or absent for classes. Why should we be shocked that Pakistan produces match fixers at an alarming rate?

 

[Savak]

Fans like you deserve Waqar Younis and Misbah combo.

For months we've been hearing from you how Amir "has no place in the ODI side". Now we will watch this backfire spectacularly.

Be careful for what you wish for - Mark my words, once Mickey is gone, we'll have a Waqar or a clone of equivalent calibre, who will appoint a captain of the mould of Misbah and Azhar Ali. I can promise when that day comes, you will change your tone.

You need to stop being so short sighted with your analysis and think all these issues out more thoroughly.

There is nothing to think about Mickey Arthur is coaching a team which has lost 14 of its last 15 ODI's, if this was a Pakistani coach he would have been shown the door a long time ago. Lets not forget he has presided over the whitewashes against Australia, New Zealand, Asia Cup Debacle, loss at home to NZ and Australia. His record at Karachi Kings is in front of everyone. He has one rule for players in his good books and another for players not in his good books.

He needs to go. He does not deserve the position anymore

 

[Pete Rose]

My own observations of Pakistanis mirrors the problem we see with the Pakistan cricket. Pakistani students that I went to school with, for the most part, were serial cheaters, had no interest in the classes except the grade, and were always late or absent for classes. Why should we be shocked that Pakistan produces match fixers at an alarming rate?

I am sorry you went to a lousy school. Maybe if you studied harder you could have gone to a school where Pakistanis don’t cheat.

 

[sjahmed23]

He reminds me of Indian-Greg phase, except that they got rid of him pretty quickly while we were caught in the white-dude mentality.

Fitness is important when you be Sarfraz thick. Else, we saw very clearly what a bellied Rohit Sharma did today. Fitness is NOT that important, brain/skills/game/technique/temperament are.

Rohit is matching Sarfraz levels... what's up with that??? he's not into the whole Kohli fitness regimen

 

[Slog]

Mickey is one of the culprits but one has to keep perspective. Pakistan’s abysmal performance in the 2007 World Cup probably triggered Bob Woolmer’s heart attack. Despite Woolmer’s many attempts to change the psyche of the team, they still crushed out in the first round; even losing to Ireland. The truth, which most Pakistanis aren’t willing to accept yet, is that the state of sports says a lot about a country.

Hockey and cricket and their dismal decline parallels closely Pakistan’s own failure as a state- it speaks of structural collapse. Pakistani players of old had an excellent command of the English language and were competitive among other things. Today’s players can’t speak the language, are out of place among their international peers, and are extremely mentally weak. Changing the coach, captain and players is the easy part, solving societal problems that lead to the creation of out of shape, illiterate and lethargic players will be the hard part.

My own observations of Pakistanis mirrors the problem we see with the Pakistan cricket. Pakistani students that I went to school with, for the most part, were serial cheaters, had no interest in the classes except the grade, and were always late or absent for classes. Why should we be shocked that Pakistan produces match fixers at an alarming rate?

Woolmers scenario is not comparable in any way. He had many extraneous factors. Two main bowlers out due to drug test, star all rounder serving suspension etc etc

 

[hadiimam]

Completely agreed! Mickey Arthur is stuck with the people he gets sent over from the local level circuit. He tried really hard to drill the importance of fitness in peoples head, but he can't sit on the captains head and watch everything he eats. No matter who we get as a selector or coach nothing will change until the quality of crickerters that comes to play international level improves!

 

[Itachi]

Mickey plays for the gallery be it fans or administration.

He is very quick to throw players under the bus while praising you like you were the next arrival of Bradman just a few days ago.

Sarafaraz and him seems like didn't have a plan B.

He probably knows he will be out after this world cup so he will probably be thinking about sending out resume rather than any emphasis on this team.

 

[The Rope]

Rohit is matching Sarfraz levels... what's up with that??? he's not into the whole Kohli fitness regimen

He never was into fitness. But thing about Sharma is his fielding and catching/slip catching is still top notch and he manages to get away doing the bare minimum.

Similar case with Dhoni. Dude is a BBC (Big Bellied Cricketer) but I am 100% confident he can out-run any Pakistani between the wickets. He only shows signs of his age if the weather is really hot and he has to play a long batting innings after a full day of keeping (as seen in Australia).

Neither bring the energy of the team down like Sarfaraz and co.

 

[shockbound]

Rohit is matching Sarfraz levels... what's up with that??? he's not into the whole Kohli fitness regimen

Rohit is bad, but not Sarfraz bad. Sarfraz is within horrible radius.

 

[Hasan123]

He won't be here after the WC. Hence not much media presence from him lately.

 

[dhump]

No one with a sound mind in the world of cricket blames Mickey Arther for the situation Pakistan team is. The problem is with the quality of our players and domestic setup to supply these players. We Pakistanis think that a coach can change the fortune of the team when in reality a coach is someone who can drive talented players to new heights and those players are missing in Pakistani setup.

 

[Captain caveman]

lol! Everyone thinks mickey is getting the sack after the wc!
I'm not sure he will!
Mickey has alot of SA contacts and has got alot of SA players to travel to pak.
Also, alot of english players have come to pak because of mickeys reassurances.
I see this as too valuable to pcb, and i am not sure they will sack him!
Inzi and safi are in danger!

 

[Pete Rose]

I don’t think he has the support of the uncle Mani.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Micky has said some pretty daft things, there's no doubt about that. And it's no secret that he is extremely emotional in an overt, look-at-me way and being stupid and saying stupid things kind of way.

He has also clearly made several strategic blunders as coach, potentially leading to series losses, notably in UAE trying to play mainly fast bowlers.

Those saying he is a yes man for Inzi or Sarfraz or whoever, well, he has to own up to that if that's the case, or he should be a man and resign. Frankly I don't think he is a yes man, and I think he has a big say.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Mickey should change his desire for bits and pieces players. Start taking proper batsmen and bowlers.

Batsmen don’t need to bowl
Similarly u don’t need bowlers to bat for them.

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

Woolmers scenario is not comparable in any way. He had many extraneous factors. Two main bowlers out due to drug test, star all rounder serving suspension etc etc

Who was that? I have forgotten.

 

[BalluBalleBaaz]

I have always maintained that Mickey is a wolf in sheep's clothing, thug, conman. He plays the system very well. Funnily enough he has always been kicked out instead of walking away and its pretty clear why.

 

[gazza619]

Mickey should change his desire for bits and pieces players. Start taking proper batsmen and bowlers.

Batsmen don’t need to bowl
Similarly u don’t need bowlers to bat for them.

But do we know if this team has been picked with Mickey’s consent?

 

[hitthestump]

He failed massively at backing the right horses.

Safaraz is the obvious one, wrong choice as capt and WK and was allowed to settle into a comfort zone.

Faheem, Shadab, Malik and Imad are all flops or flopping and yet few replacements seem obvious for their positions because Mickey didn't groom any in his tenure.

 

[in_cutter]

Mickey should change his desire for bits and pieces players. Start taking proper batsmen and bowlers.

Batsmen don’t need to bowl
Similarly u don’t need bowlers to bat for them.

But these bits n pieces players have been around donkey yrs (Malik/Hafeez). No coach was able to get rid of them.

 

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

Mickey plays for the gallery be it fans or administration.

He is very quick to throw players under the bus while praising you like you were the next arrival of Bradman just a few days ago.

Sarafaraz and him seems like didn't have a plan B.

He probably knows he will be out after this world cup so he will probably be thinking about sending out resume rather than any emphasis on this team.

Has there even been a coach in Pakistan's history that lasted beyond a WC ?

 

[hitthestump]

lol! Everyone thinks mickey is getting the sack after the wc!
I'm not sure he will!
Mickey has alot of SA contacts and has got alot of SA players to travel to pak.
Also, alot of english players have come to pak because of mickeys reassurances.
I see this as too valuable to pcb, and i am not sure they will sack him!
Inzi and safi are in danger!

Interesting. I think having a white coach is a fair point and may actually make a big difference to foreign players travelling to Pak.

 

[Captain caveman]

Interesting. I think having a white coach is a fair point and may actually make a big difference to foreign players travelling to Pak.

Pcb would love SA to tour pak for a 3 odi series. This would be a big feather in pcb's cap! Pcb can then boast that zimbabwe, SL, WI , ICC 11 and now SA have all toured pakistan, so there is no reason why england, australia and NZ are refusing to!
Who is the man who can make this happen - MICKEY ARTHUR!
pcb therefore, i believe do not want to lose mickey! For the doubters, how many pak fans were amazed to see faf du plese in the icc 11 which toured pak! And there were a few other SA players in the 11, imran tahir and some others. Everyone was expecting club level cricketers in that ICC 11, not the captain of SA!
Yes these players were paid well,but pcb has offered good money before and players have rejected going to pak!
I believe mickey was a big influence on this. Thats why pcb have to weigh up and make a trade off between paks cricket's poor performances and mickeys "pulling power".
I think inzi will get replaced by amir sohail as chief selector. Sohail will select better players for mickey to select from and hopefully, improve the teams results.
And safi will be replaced by shaan masood, the new misbah! A well educated , professional, athletic captain, who can speak fluent english!
These 2 changes will cater for the bloodletting that pak cricket fans are screaming for and at the same time protect mickey.
Mickey might be asked to replace grant flower and azhar mehmood, which iam sure he would do!
The alternatives if you sack mickey is only dean jones(who i believe is a better coach than mickey and would be my choice for pak coach) but he has no int coaching experience and zero "pulling power" i.e. deano has no chance of getting australia to tour pak!
No other SENA coach seem interested in the post! After waqar was fired after 2015 wc, pcb offered the post to a few other people, who all refused. Mickey was way down the on pcb list for the post of coach, but he was the only person who would accept the role!
If the pcb decide to go for a pak coach - inzi , mohsin khan, misbah etc.
The results may improve a little with these guys but they bring nothing to the plate, in terms of influencing SENA teams or players to tour pak!

This is my take on the situation, i may be completely wrong and pcb may sack mickey after the wc, but the replacements hardly inspire confidence and certainly wont have mickey's "pulling power"!

And for all the people who will say that int players are willing to tour pak because of psl, remember, those players are making a personal choice(influenced by money) to tour pak. The board of those players are not liable for anything, god forbid, that happens to those players. It is a completely different scenario to get an int team to tour!

 

[big_gamer007]

Pakistan has never been a consistent side minus the time when IK was leading in 80s. Even then they were second best side however thats because England, Australia, India weren't as good as they were supposed to be.

So blame Mickey but throughout history Pakistan has never been consistent, it's not problem of coach it's the culture, mindset and unprofessionalism deep rooted through the society. Replacing Mickey with anyone else won't change anything.

Read waqar's report people portray him as a villain to keep themselves deluded and to not get hurt by accepting the harsh truth that Pakistan's problems are much more deeper than just a coach.

Everything from economy to terrorism to globalisation to religion to mindset to culture to food is indirectly or directly related. Pakistan needs a massive overhaul to find the right balance if they ever wish to grow not just in cricket but as a nation.

Can IK do it and will people let him do it? Only time will tell.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Good job sir , apart from finding any quality spinners and power hitter you did a decent job to gel the less talented bunch, now its time to pass the baton.

 

[Cricket World]

Mickey is such a waste of time as useless as you get. Sir go back and do coaching for school team where you came from.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

How Mickey Arthur transformed number 1 test team

When Mickey Arthur was introduced coach in 2016, Pakistan had bad exit from t20s
He made the team much more better in fielding and facilitated the rise of Fahim ashraf , imad wasim and shadab khan

The Pakistan team today has no passengers in the field
And play a very exciting brand of cricket which is attacking in the opening overs and also exciting bowlers who are always looking to pick up wicket

Thank Mickey Arthur for maintaining the Pakistani cricket brand

 

[The_Odd_One]

What thought?

Pakistan cricket team has lost 14 of their last 15 ODIs.

Karachi Kings have failed to play a single PSL final.

Not a single players has improved in Mickey's tenure.