Arthur discussed his commitment to both roles with Derbyshire and Pakistan
\nIslamabad
\nMickey Arthur, who recently served as Pakistan\u2019s team director, shared his thoughts on his dual roles in county and international cricket, the challenges faced by Pakistan in the Asia and World Cup, and the future direction for Pakistan cricket.
\nIn an interview with Wisden, Arthur discussed his commitment to both roles with Derbyshire and Pakistan, emphasizing the structure he implemented to manage them effectively.
\n\u201cMy main role was with Derbyshire. When Najam Sethi came in he wanted me to come on board again, but I\u2019ve got a really good contract with Derbyshire and was in the middle of a project; I did not want to give that up and go to something that as we know is as insecure as any role with the PCB because this is my livelihood,\u201d Arthur said.
\n\u201cNajam asked me to create a structure that I thought could work. I gave it a huge amount of time \u2013 getting up early in the morning to do my PCB work, then my Derbyshire work to the best of my ability, once more in the evening catching up with more PCB work. It was tough, but I gave both roles my full 100 per cent commitment. Among other things I designed and constructed a whole structure for the National Academy, so I spent a lot of time doing that, it wasn\u2019t just the structure for the national team, it went beyond that,\u201d he further added.
\nAddressing his return to Pakistan cricket in 2023, Arthur expressed his belief that he could contribute significantly due to his familiarity with the structure and personnel. He shared his disappointment over the disrupted player development process after leaving in 2019.
\n\u201cThe major difference with the players was that they had grown up. Having left them in 2019 they were young boys with immense talent who were finding their way in the game and were very impressionable. They were open to change as well as understanding the requirements we wanted from them and then implementing them. What I acquired this time were boys that had made their mark in international cricket \u2013 champions of the game, who have reached there by playing in a certain way \u2013 and probably won\u2019t be as open to change. There was a marked difference, and it\u2019s not to say I didn\u2019t really enjoy them, it was just handling them in a different way,\u201d Arthur said.
\nFurthermore, Arthur discussed his decision to bring in Haider Ali and expressed his frustration over what he perceives as a stalled career for Haider, emphasizing the player\u2019s exceptional talent and the lack of a clear role for him.
\n\u201cI brought in Haider Ali, because I watched Haider in my last year with Pakistan when he was with the U19 side, observed him in the nets, and thought his career had been stunted a bit, which annoyed me to an extent, because I think he is a wonderful talent, but he has never had a clear role defined for him. So, I bought him in to develop his game, and I wanted Zaman Khan to come in and bowl in different conditions \u2013 and he was superb. On the back of that he got a Hundred contract, he\u2019s in the Big Bash now and above all he\u2019s playing consistently for Pakistan in T20 cricket. So, I feel we\u2019ve done our job in developing those players,\u201d Arthur explained.
\nCommenting on the challenging schedule during the Asia Cup, Arthur acknowledged the physical and mental fatigue experienced by the players due to continuous long-distance travel but refrained from using it as an excuse.
\n\u201cYes, without a doubt it did, but those were the cards we were dealt, so, I\u2019m not sitting for one minute and making that an excuse. That was the hybrid model the Asia Cup had given us, and it was important that we still got games in Pakistan. We had to make the best of it, but it was very tough.
\nDue to my schedule, it only allowed me to be with them for a partial period of time. For the players it was literally: finish a game in Pakistan, shower, then straight to the airport, overnight flight back into Sri Lanka, then playing a game two days later, and they had to do this at least three times. It was incredibly tough for the players and I found that they very clearly burnt out towards the back end of the tournament. Unfortunately they took that into the World Cup, which was incredibly disappointing,\u201d Arthur remarked.
\nArthur also discussed the unique challenges faced during the World Cup, particularly in a hostile environment against India.
\n\u201cIt was extremely tough not having any Pakistan support, because the one thing that really drives the Pakistan team is the incredible and unbelievable support they receive at grounds and hotels. You go around the world and you see the \u2018Sea of green\u2019, it\u2019s truly amazing! Here we never had that, and that was quite tough in a World Cup, particularly for the players. As you can imagine it was a tough hostile environment in Ahmedabad, but we were expecting this, and to their credit our players never moaned or complained once, they cracked on and tried their best \u2013 nevertheless it ultimately does play a role in motivation when you can\u2019t see or hear that support base around you,\u201d Arthur said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arthur discussed his commitment to both roles with Derbyshire and Pakistan Islamabad Mickey Arthur, who recently served as Pakistan\u2019s team director, shared his thoughts on his dual roles in county and international cricket, the challenges faced by Pakistan in the Asia and World Cup, and the future direction for Pakistan cricket. In an interview with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-380722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n