Let’s learn from Boks and show Pakistan cricket is a winner, says Arthur
Pakistan’s SA coach believes his team’s ‘perfect game is good enough to beat anybody’ and that they are capable of winning six games in a row
26 October 2023 - 17:28
bySTUART HESS
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is planning this tour with meticulous precision and attention to detail, says the writer. Picture: REUTERS Image:
Chennai — At least one tiny corner of Pakistan will scream for SA. On Saturday, when the rugby’s on.
Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Morné Morkel and physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon are crystal clear about their rugby allegiance.
“Get in #Bokke What a game of rugby ... #RugbyWorldCup”, Arthur tweeted after the quarterfinal against France.
“Yessssss man!!!!!! You flippen beauties. @Springboks,” Morkel commented on the same site after the semifinal.
There were understandably — given the age we live in and the team they’re a part of at the World Cup — some less than complimentary responses. Pakistan is in trouble at this year’s Cricket World Cup.
They have won two out of five matches and defeat against a team Arthur and Morkel were instrumental members of 15 years ago would leave Pakistan needing to rely on results from other teams to keep alive their play-off hopes.
Both are squarely in the spotlight.
Arthur coached SA from 2005 to 2010, overseeing a period in which the Proteas achieved historic success by winning Test series in England and Australia. Morkel was an integral part of an attack which dominated the Test arena and played prominent roles in both series wins.
Morkel was not part of the 2007 World Cup campaign, the only one Arthur oversaw as Proteas coach, where the team qualified for the semifinal and then suffered a horrible meltdown in that encounter against Australia.
Arthur found greater success with Pakistan when he took on the coaching role there in 2016, winning the Champions Trophy in England, beating India in the final at the Oval. That year the Test team also rose to No 1 in the rankings and Arthur was much feted.
As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) looked ahead to this year’s World Cup, it didn’t come as a surprise that they turned to Arthur again, though this time he turned down the coaching job and was instead installed as team director — a sort of cricketing Rassie Erasmus.
Not that Arthur has been able to sprinkle this team with the kind of magic the Bok mentor has managed.
Pakistan had been strangely consistent for a team with their historic reputation. They’d won 75% of their ODIs in the two years before the tournament and were ranked the No 1 ODI side. Arthur, however, has not yet been able to conjure the same kind of success he did six years ago. The mood in Pakistan, where fans and large portions of the media have not been allowed into India given the fractious political relationship between the two countries, has been so angry that the PCB felt moved to release a statement on Thursday asking for patience and support.
“The PCB acknowledges the emotions and sentiments of cricket fans following the three consecutive defeats by the national team in the ICC World Cup 2023. In this challenging environment, the board administration hopes the cricketing fraternity and fans will continue to support Babar Azam and the entire Pakistan cricket team,” the PCB pleaded.
It’s a level of fanaticism Arthur will understand, not just from his stint previously but also as a keen supporter of a team such as the Springboks, who have engendered such fervour.
Morkel too has not had it easy, with lots of criticism directed at Pakistan’s bowling, especially Shaheen Shah Afridi and his inability to pick up wickets with the new ball. Shaheen has taken just one wicket in the first power play in this tournament.
With Naseem Shah missing the tournament because of injury, so much more rests on Shaheen’s shoulders, and that burden is proving a heavy one to bear.
Arthur, a bit like Erasmus, was also moved to outline how he believes the team can perform if it puts its best foot forward. “We have to face facts, we have not played the complete game, and it’s up to us, dig, delve and put that perfect game together. Our perfect game is good enough to beat anybody,” he said in a PCB online interview.
“We’ve got to get on a streak, we’ve got to win six in a row now. We’ve got to get our execution 100% right and if we do that, there is no reason why we can’t [win six in a row],” he added.
A streak like that will have to start on Friday against SA. On Saturday, he can get back to supporting that other SA team.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Let’s learn from Boks and show Pakistan cricket is a winner, says Arthur
Pakistan’s SA coach believes his team’s ‘perfect game is good enough to beat anybody’ and that they are capable of winning six games in a row
Image:
Chennai — At least one tiny corner of Pakistan will scream for SA. On Saturday, when the rugby’s on.
Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Morné Morkel and physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon are crystal clear about their rugby allegiance.
“Get in #Bokke What a game of rugby ... #RugbyWorldCup”, Arthur tweeted after the quarterfinal against France.
“Yessssss man!!!!!! You flippen beauties. @Springboks,” Morkel commented on the same site after the semifinal.
There were understandably — given the age we live in and the team they’re a part of at the World Cup — some less than complimentary responses. Pakistan is in trouble at this year’s Cricket World Cup.
They have won two out of five matches and defeat against a team Arthur and Morkel were instrumental members of 15 years ago would leave Pakistan needing to rely on results from other teams to keep alive their play-off hopes.
Both are squarely in the spotlight.
Arthur coached SA from 2005 to 2010, overseeing a period in which the Proteas achieved historic success by winning Test series in England and Australia. Morkel was an integral part of an attack which dominated the Test arena and played prominent roles in both series wins.
Morkel was not part of the 2007 World Cup campaign, the only one Arthur oversaw as Proteas coach, where the team qualified for the semifinal and then suffered a horrible meltdown in that encounter against Australia.
Arthur found greater success with Pakistan when he took on the coaching role there in 2016, winning the Champions Trophy in England, beating India in the final at the Oval. That year the Test team also rose to No 1 in the rankings and Arthur was much feted.
As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) looked ahead to this year’s World Cup, it didn’t come as a surprise that they turned to Arthur again, though this time he turned down the coaching job and was instead installed as team director — a sort of cricketing Rassie Erasmus.
Not that Arthur has been able to sprinkle this team with the kind of magic the Bok mentor has managed.
Pakistan had been strangely consistent for a team with their historic reputation. They’d won 75% of their ODIs in the two years before the tournament and were ranked the No 1 ODI side. Arthur, however, has not yet been able to conjure the same kind of success he did six years ago. The mood in Pakistan, where fans and large portions of the media have not been allowed into India given the fractious political relationship between the two countries, has been so angry that the PCB felt moved to release a statement on Thursday asking for patience and support.
“The PCB acknowledges the emotions and sentiments of cricket fans following the three consecutive defeats by the national team in the ICC World Cup 2023. In this challenging environment, the board administration hopes the cricketing fraternity and fans will continue to support Babar Azam and the entire Pakistan cricket team,” the PCB pleaded.
It’s a level of fanaticism Arthur will understand, not just from his stint previously but also as a keen supporter of a team such as the Springboks, who have engendered such fervour.
Morkel too has not had it easy, with lots of criticism directed at Pakistan’s bowling, especially Shaheen Shah Afridi and his inability to pick up wickets with the new ball. Shaheen has taken just one wicket in the first power play in this tournament.
With Naseem Shah missing the tournament because of injury, so much more rests on Shaheen’s shoulders, and that burden is proving a heavy one to bear.
Arthur, a bit like Erasmus, was also moved to outline how he believes the team can perform if it puts its best foot forward. “We have to face facts, we have not played the complete game, and it’s up to us, dig, delve and put that perfect game together. Our perfect game is good enough to beat anybody,” he said in a PCB online interview.
“We’ve got to get on a streak, we’ve got to win six in a row now. We’ve got to get our execution 100% right and if we do that, there is no reason why we can’t [win six in a row],” he added.
A streak like that will have to start on Friday against SA. On Saturday, he can get back to supporting that other SA team.
Proteas are wary of a struggling but ‘mercurial’ Pakistan
Australia drub the Dutch after Maxwell mayhem
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Proteas more readers than planners — Markram
De Kock on fire as Proteas crush Bangladesh
Afghanistan’s historic win will have ripple effect, coach Trott says
Top order helps Afghanistan trounce Pakistan
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.