Focus right now on World Cup, says Arthur

DERBY: Mickey Arthur, the former head coach of Pakistan, has made a comeback, this time to serve as Director Pakistan cricket team (men’s).

In an interview at Derbyshire CCC he told Geo about his short term as well as long term plans for Pakistan team. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

Geo: Had you ever thought that you would be back with PCB?

Mickey: No I didn't, because as you know things change very quickly in Pakistan and these things get thrown up but it was just too good an opportunity for me to turn down but I'm very invested in my project here at Derbyshire.

I think once the PCB understood that and allowed me the latitude to maintain my role here but become the team director and have a lot of swaying responsibility with the Pakistan team it was a perfect match.

It also allows me with the schedules that it's very doable. I can finish the season and go to the World Cup and go on that test tour to Australia, there's a West Indies Test tour early in the new year and then there's nothing because it's PSL. It allows me to come back and make sure my efforts here. So it's something that I think is very doable.

Geo: How will you make it work?

Mickey: Yeah I’ve got that in mind. The whole support staff has been put there by me. They’re reporting to me every day. I'm all over them every day and I understand what's happening in the team. I have communication with the captain with all the players every day. It’s working really well and then it also allows me to be totally hands-on once the season ends here. Pakistan just became number one ODI team in the world so things are going well.

Geo: You recently visited Pakistan and met with players. How was the interaction?

Mickey: That was fantastic. First thing I said was I left them as young, very talented boys, some very very talented creators but now when I look around the room those young boys are grown into men.

They all have wives most of them and they had developed nice big egos and they have started backing themselves. They were very happy to see me and I was very happy to see them I've got great relationships with them.

Geo: Pakistan recently defeated New Zealand in ODI series but the T20 series ended in a draw. Are you satisfied with the team’s performance?

Mickey: I think so but not at T20s, we were two nil up in a five match series. I expected us to win that because with the talent that we have in Pakistan we expect to win all our games.

But I think that they were very very good in the one day series so I’m comfortable. Obviously our focus is very much now on the upcoming World Cup so our focus is very much on getting that 50 over team right to make a really concerted effort.

Geo: Your last assignment with Pakistan team as head coach was 2019 World Cup now your first big assignment as director will be 2023 World Cup. Can Pakistan do better then what they did last time?

Mickey: I firmly believe that with the talent we have at our disposal this is a team that can win the World Cup. I really do. I'm also really excited to be able to play a role in those players development.

Geo: Before the World Cup in India in October the only ODI matches Pakistan team is due to play are in the Asia Cup which we even don’t know will take place or not, so are you working with PCB on some backup plans?

Mickey: Yes, we have put a whole schedule together in terms of camps and we have identified areas that we think we need to work on particularly through the middle overs, our ability to play spin, our ability to hit sweepers.

We're also having a look at our finishers, guys who can come in and finish and really hit the ball out of the ground and then just continuing to work on our bench strength in terms of our bowling depth as we have got some wonderful bowlers. So we will have camps all the way through the sort of off period now. A lot of the players are coming over here in England to play in county cricket.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will be just down the road in Nottingham, we've got Hassan Ali over at Edgbaston, Shadab Khan will be playing for Sussex so we've got a number of Pakistan players that are going to be playing over here which allows me to go and just catch up with them as well and just to make sure that they're doing what we want them to do and that they're all on the right track.

Geo: In the last year and half Pakistan team have failed to win home Test series. What’s not going right?

Mickey: I don't know and that is a priority for us. The Test team have got a tour of Sri Lanka in July.

With that world Test championship starts again so that is a real focus of ours. We do have to play and find a brand of cricket at Test level that's going to compete with the best because it is an area that needs a lot of work.

Geo: What’s your take on Babar Azam’s captaincy?

Mickey: I met Babar when I was in Pakistan. I think he's doing a wonderful job and I think he has started to make that position his own.

Tactically he's getting better, his betting is again going from strength to strength so I think Babar is doing a really good job at the minute.

Geo: Have you spoken to Sarfraz Ahmed recently? Is he in your plans for the ICC world cup?

Mickey: Look Sarfraz and I have a great relationship. I've touched base with him but as you know there are so many people in the shake-up for that 50 over World Cup.

So we haven't spoken about that explicitly at the time but I have caught up with Sarfraz because him and I go back a long way we've got a really good relationship.

Geo: Mohammad Abbas has done so well in the last couple of years for Hampshire but been ignored by Pakistani selectors. Can he make a comeback to Test squad?

Mickey: I've been watching Mohamed Abbas, he's a great bowler. I think in certain conditions he becomes very very good so yes he will certainly be considered for selection going forward without a doubt.

Geo: There were reports that you were planning to bring Yasir Arafat as bowling coach who’s also ECB qualified coach but that didn’t happen. What made you to change your decision?

Mickey: It was just circumstances. I just looked at what we had available, I looked at what the team needed and then try to put together stuff that I think is going to really benefit the players going forward.

Geo: How much satisfied are you with Haider Ali’s performance?

Arthur: Haider has been good, he is growing, he is getting better. Haider is starting to understand his game.