Mickey Arthur prepares for a fresh challenge as Pakistan coach

The South African will prepare his side to take on England this summer and look to improve his image after his unceremonious sacking as Australia coach ahead of the 2013 Ashes series

Mickey Arthur (Getty)

Mickey Arthur is a man who likes a challenge, which is lucky given his decision to take on perhaps international cricket’s toughest assignment.

The 47-year-old South African was appointed as Pakistan coach on Friday, replacing Waqar Younis, and putting him on another collision course with England this summer.

When he was last on these shores, Arthur cut a forlorn figure and, in a move of almost unprecedented ruthlessness, was dispensed of his duties just two weeks before the start of the 2013 Ashes series.

He had taken over the Australian job in November 2011 and assumed control of a side in transition. By the time he left the role, the Aussies weren’t so much in a state of flux as falling apart at the seams.

Riven by internal rivalries, Arthur was pilloried for his decision to send home Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja for a breach of discipline on their disastrous pre-Ashes trip to India.

That breach involved the failure to come back to Arthur with three clear points detailing how individual and team performances could improve following a three and a half day humbling at the hands of the hosts in Hyderabad.

It’s a judgement that has hung heavily over Arthur in the intervening three and a half years and, ultimately, played a part in his humiliating sacking on the eve of the Ashes.

“At the end of the day, when you go on to Google everything is about the way you were sacked when you were in charge of Australia,” says Arthur. “It doesn’t mention the good things I did with South Africa or the good things I did in my first year with Australia when I brought in a lot of young players and gave them opportunities and tried to build a team.

“That all tends to get lost in the fact that you ultimately got sacked and that’s disappointing. It does give me a motivation to re-establish myself. I know I’m a really good coach and now I’ve got the chance to try and re-establish myself.”

His first assignment couldn’t be more testing. England have proved formidable on home soil in recent years and comfortably saw off Australia’s challenge last year. Trevor Bayliss’s side also beat South Africa away from home this winter with a side bursting with youthful zest and vigour.

That compares starkly with a Pakistan side still heavily reliant on captain Misbah Ul-Haq and Younis Khan. The latter is 38, while the evergreen Ul-Haq will turn 42 before the series begins.

That said, the pair played a key role in Pakistan’s 2-0 series win against Alastair Cook’s side in the UAE, with both averaging over 50. Playing on unfamiliar English pitches, of course, will offer a different test entirely.

It will also offer Arthur the chance to renew acquaintances with his good friend, Trevor Bayliss, who has had such an extraordinary impact on this England side since taking over from Peter Moores 12 months ago.

“It’s a great way to start,” says Arthur. “I can’t wait to get back to England and hopefully finish a series there this time.

“I know Trevor well. Trevor has been round the block with Sri Lanka and others and he knows what it’s all about, he understands what’s needed to be successful. He has brought fresh ideas to a different country and that’s what I’m planning to bring to Pakistan.”

Like the age difference between the two sides, the pressure facing Arthur will be in sharp contrast to the relatively serene life he has enjoyed since being relieved of his post with Australia.

Shoaib Akhtar is just one high profile former Pakistan player to set the clock ticking on Arthur’s time to turn around the faltering fortunes of a country that’s still unable to play matches on home soil as a result of security fears. Working as a coach in a private school, while running his own coaching academy, therefore, hardly seems like the ideal preparation for most onerous of tasks.

Shoaib Akhtar (Getty)

Arthur, though, insists that his relatively stress-free existence – punctuated by coaching stints in the Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies T20 Premier Leagues – has merely fuelled his desire to get back into the international game.

“I got to a point in my life where I loved what I was doing but I felt I still had more,” he says. “I still wanted that adrenaline rush on matchday, I still wanted to test myself at the highest level.

“I’ve had a great time coaching teams in these various T20 tournaments but that involvement obviously only lasts for a finite period. I just felt I was too young to be doing what I was doing. That was a job for me in four or five years’ time. I’m going to give international cricket one more crack. The Pakistan job seems like a perfect fit.”

England should be wary too, given Arthur’s excellent record against them during his tenure with South Africa. He led his home country to their first series win in England in over 40 years in 2008 – a victory which played a key role in South Africa being crowned the number one side in world cricket under his stewardship.

His record of 10 wins in 19 Tests with Australia also suggests that his failures with the England’s greatest rivals was based more on perception than fact.

Arthur has already said that he will be tough on discipline with his new charges, a warning that any homework-shy Pakistan international will do well to heed.

England, meanwhile, will hope that the second half of this Test match summer will provide the tourists and their coach with the sharpest learning curve possible.