Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur has his eyes set on leaving behind a legacy for Pakistan cricket before his tenure with the Men in Green comes to an end.
Pakistan cricket has gone from strength to strength under Arthur’s guidance and the South African hopes to continue in this role for as long as possible.
“This is a job I am very passionate about and one that I absolutely love,” said Arthur while talking to The Cricket Paper. “We have certainly changed the direction of thinking and put a lot of emphasis on areas that we need to improve upon. One day when I am not Pakistan coach any more, I would like people to look back and say that we had a foreign coach and a coaching team that came with him and they have left a legacy for Pakistan cricket.”
He added: “They weren’t here to just get their salary cheque at the end of every month and these guys have actually left a legacy behind which is totally what I would want to do. It’s a job I am incredibly passionate about and as long as I am making a difference to the Pakistan cricket team, I would love to stay as long as I possibly can.”
Mickey Arthur has an abundance of experience coaching top quality international side including South Africa and Australia but he feels that this Pakistan stint is the most challenging task of his coaching career.
“I have done a lot and I have been very fortunate in my career to have worked all over the world and been an international coach for a long time,” he said. “It’s very demanding, it’s challenging and it’s all-consuming. But, I would certainly not change it for the world. This Pakistan job stimulates me all day.”
When asked about whether he will be interested in renewing his contract after the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Arthur said: “I would do that with pleasure.”
Talking about the team’s performance in the recently concluded tour of England, Arthur said that Pakistan’s overall performance was satisfactory but it was heart-wrenching that we fluffed a great opportunity to win a Test series against England, especially considering that winning away from home is a tough ask.
“We are a young team, so inconsistency levels will be there as we forge our way forward. But, still for me and the team, we were absolutely gutted as this was an opportunity for us to win a series,” he said. “People say that overall it was a good result and I agree it was a good result for sure, and if someone had said that coming on this tour we would win two out of three Test matches, we would have taken that gladly.”
He added: “But, we want more. We want more as a team and as a group together as I think winning away from home is so tough and we had a real opportunity to do that. We shouldn’t have to accept a 1-1 result as we always want to win a series.”
The South African also stressed on the importance of managing the workload of fast-bowler Mohammad Amir, who has been prone to injuries since his return to international cricket.
Arthur is keen on ensuring that Pakistan’s resources are shipshape for next year’s World Cup in order to extract optimum level of productivity.
“I am going to sit with Mohammad Amir and [chief selector] Inzamamul Haq soon and we are going to map out a future for him,” said Arthur. “After our discussions, Inzamam will present the plan to the selection panel and then to the player. The fact is that we need all our bowlers firing when it’s time for the 2019 World Cup so that we are in a position to choose the best possible squad we can have for that tournament. We also want to make sure that those players are not tired and ready to deliver their best performances over that period for us.”
Arthur’s next assignment with the Pakistan Cricket Team is the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe where the Men in Green will take part in a T20I triangular series featuring the hosts and Australia, followed by a five match ODI series against the home side.
The article originally appeared in The Cricket Paper.