Tom Collomosse’s cricket column: Has Mickey Arthur learned enough from ‘homework-gate’ to get top marks with Pakistan?

COMMENT
Pakistan's newly-appointed head cricket coach Mickey Arthur
ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse29 June 2016

Mickey Arthur is a journalist’s dream. Ask him a straight question, he will deliver a straight answer — and usually an interesting one.

Do England’s top order have a weakness, the new Pakistan coach was asked? Sure they do, replied the South African, before listing those perceived flaws.

Were it not for Alastair Cook and Joe Root, Arthur said, England’s batting line-up would not be up to much. James Vince was struggling to convince at Test level. If the gloves were taken from him, would Jonny Bairstow be able to handle the pressure of playing as a batsman alone?

It was strong stuff and unusual for cricket, where coaches generally have a lower profile than their counterparts in football or rugby. The tradition in cricket is for the captain to be the face of the team, with the coach offering sober guidance in the background.

Arthur is comfortable in the spotlight and the approach has brought some success. He worked with South Africa for five years, leading them to Test wins in Australia and South Africa in 2008.

In accepting an offer from the Pakistan Cricket Board, the 48-year-old has perhaps taken the most difficult job in world cricket. Can the partnership work?

Few teams are as mercurial as Pakistan. They can be spellbindingly brilliant in one hour, amateurish in the next. In the past, the squad has been split by factions that undermine fragile team unity. Critics say certain players are selected for political, rather than cricketing, reasons.

Arthur’s plan is clear: he has talked of being “tough on discipline” and not tolerating “selfish” players. He has a strong ally in Misbah-ul-Haq — but at 42, the captain is not a long-term option.

It will be difficult for Arthur to change completely the identity of Pakistan, who have rarely prepared for matches as rigorously as many of their rivals. To succeed, there needs to be compromise. Whether Arthur can achieve it depends on how much he has learned from ‘homework-gate’.

The episode defined Arthur’s stormy two-year time with Australia. During Australia’s 2013 tour of India, Arthur handed a written task to the squad before the Third Test in Mohali.

When four players — Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja — failed to complete it, they were not chosen for the match. Australia were whitewashed 4-0 in the series and Arthur did not even make it as far as that summer’s Ashes series in England, with Darren Lehmann appointed in his place.

Although Arthur insists the accounts of ‘homework-gate’ do not represent him accurately, he would surely act differently in the same situation. It is fine to have strong cricketing principles, especially if they help to improve a skilful but sometimes chaotic team. It will be just as important, though, for Arthur to be flexible.

Arthur spoke this week of how, measured purely by talent, Pakistan had superior players to either South Africa or Australia. It is a fair statement: despite lacking many of the facilities or opportunities granted players in other countries, Pakistan have consistently produced fine cricketers and competed at the top of the world game.

Will Arthur demand that every player trains as hard as AB De Villiers or Michael Clarke? Or will he be able to appreciate that in some cases, it might be better to live with the status quo than push for revolution?

The American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wished for “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. As he embarks on a role that will bring elation one moment, frustration the next, it is a useful message for Arthur to follow.

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