Mickey Arthur

Calcutta: Mickey Arthur, the first foreign-born coach of Australia’s national cricket team, who is suddenly in the news in such a big way, recently spoke to The Telegraph.

Arthur, 44, is also a selector.

The following are excerpts

Coaching Australia after having coached South Africa...

Starting off, it was a mental challenge, because you need to be exceptional... Coming from another country, you need to make a mark. When you do, you get the players’ respect. My stint with Western Australia helped... The season-and-a-half with them proved beneficial.

His early days (late 2011) in the Australia dressing room...

To find one’s feet, one needs a bit of experience.

Break from coaching an international team...

It was very important... Recharged me... Actually, I loved the challenge of coming to Australia and working in its state system. It allowed me to reassess what I wanted out of my coaching career.

Difference in coaching at the two levels...

At the international level, you’re almost like a soccer manager. At the state or provincial level, you can do a lot more work on the technical side. At the base level, you can influence technique. At the international level, it’s more about man management.

Rapport with Test and ODI captain Michael Clarke...

We needed to have a really good relationship and we achieved that within weeks of my becoming the coach. I had an easy approach with (South Africa’s) Graeme Smith. It’s the same with Clarke.

Difference between Smith and Clarke...

Not a big difference, to be honest... Both are very ambitious and very decisive as leaders... Both have an aura about them.

His approach as coach...

Man management and strategy are the two most important things. Both are massively important... I’m there to help the players in their decision-making. I prepare the team, but on the field, the captain is the boss. He has to steer the ship. The roles are clearly demarcated and my job is to take the pressure off Clarke... The captain and I both want an attacking brand of cricket... We want to give the players roots to grow and wings to fly. We’d like them to play with freedom.

Freedom...

Clarke and I would like the fast bowlers to run in at 140 kmph... We’d like them to use the bouncer well... The batsmen should go out there and just score.

No.1 challenge...

To improve in limited overs cricket, particularly keeping the 2015 World Cup in sight. I also feel the T20 format isn’t being taken seriously enough. We need to.

The environment he seeks to create...

Where there’s trust between the players and the support staff... I like a stable environment, where one can concentrate on achieving excellence. I’m honest, I’m always straightforward.

Lessons from his innings with South Africa...

I was very young (mid 30s) when I got the South Africa job... I have fond memories, for we ticked every box and became No.1 in Tests and ODIs... We failed to win an ICC event, but did well in other series/ tournaments... I learnt that, as the coach, I had to back myself... That I had to create a structure and an environment for the players to perform. I did some things wrong, but I did some things right!

If moving on was tough emotionally...

It was, for the players were good friends, but all good thing come to an end. It was in the team’s best interests that there be a new voice in the dressing room... The team needed to head in a new direction... I’d run my race and it was time to hand the baton over to someone else. (Full-time successor) Gary Kirsten has taken South Africa to another level.

Stagnation...

I’d given the players everything I could... They needed another coach... However, I don’t think you can blame the coach alone for stagnation. It’s collective.

Coaches having a shelf life...

They do have a shelf life unless, of course, they can keep rejuvenating the team. My five years with South Africa were just right.

If captains have a shelf life...

For some, it’s longer... Really depends on the individual. You change a captain if you need fresh ideas, fresh energy.

Being an Australia selector too...

Makes it easier for me... It’s important for a coach to have a fair say in the selection process because, then, he can communicate with authority. When I speak to the players, I do so with authority and credibility.

Finally, if he reads the Riot Act...

(Laughs) Yeah... It could happen three or four times in a season or may not happen at all... But, when I read the Riot Act, it carries an impact.