London, June 28: Newly appointed Pakistan head coach, Mickey Arthur, who is now leading his third international team (after South Africa and Australia), believes he’s become wiser with experience, but is also adamant that he would stick by his preferred ways of coaching.
Arthur is with the Pakistan team on their current trip to England on his first coaching assignment with the sub-continent nation, a tour that’ll see the team playing four Tests, five One Day Internationals and a one-off Twenty20 match.
Arthur’s recent memories of leading an international team in England aren’t great. In 2013, he was sacked as Australia’s coach just days ahead of the start of the Ashes series and was consequently replaced by Darren Lehmann, following an unsuccessful Champions Trophy campaign. His sacking was also a result of the internal turmoil which lingered since Australia’s visit to India, in early 2013.
The men from Down Under were blanked by a 4-0 margin with Arthur at the center of the ‘homework-gate saga’, which resulted in the axing of four players, ahead of the third Test, in Mohali.
The Pakistan coach now finds himself in a role that involves the challenge of getting the best out of a mercurial Pakistan team, with the focus being squarely laid on the talented pacer, Mohammad Amir. “You go back and analyse and think about it, and I’ve obviously learnt a hell of a lot from that experience,” Arthur said on Monday (June 27). “But I haven’t changed my style, because I don’t think you could compromise on what you think is the right way to work … on your core values and principles,” he added.
Arthur wasn’t willing to be drawn any further into the ‘homework gate’ scandal, insisting that he had moved on from that phase. “I am sick and tired of talking about ‘homework-gate’, and the way it’s been reported is totally way off the pace of what happened. But in terms of running teams, there are ways of doing it – and that’s how you get your ultimate success,” he noted.
Talking about the upcoming Test series, due to begin on July 14th, at Lord’s, London, Arthur sounded optimistic about the team’s chances, hailing Pakistan’s natural talent, which he believes is up there with any other team. “It has been an eye opener,” he said. The skill levels the Pakistan team have are unbelievable. The ability to do things the other two teams I’ve coached couldn’t do is incredible. What the other teams had was fitness levels, structures and self-disciplines in knowing their own game. I’m trying to get patience into the skills … and (then) together you’ll have something very, very good,” he concluded. – Online
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