John Michael Arthur (born 17 May 1968) is a South African-Australian cricket coach, commentator and former

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, who played in South African domestic cricket from 1986 to 2001. He has served as the head coach of the

Derbyshire County Cricket Club Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Derbyshire. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Falcon ...

since November 2021. He coached the South African national team from 2005 to 2010, was the coach of the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) a ...

from 2010 until his sacking in June 2013 (then to be replaced by Darren Lehmann) and was the coach of the

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...

from 2016 to 2019. In December 2019, Mickey was appointed as the new head coach of Sri Lanka by the

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national sports body. The board was renamed ...

replacing interim coach Rumesh Ratnayake.

Biography

Arthur was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to De ...

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, South Africa. He is an old boy of

Westville Boys' High School Westville Boys' High School, often referred to as WBHS or "boys high", is a semi-private high school for boys located in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Early history The year 2022 marks the 67th anniversary of WBHS as a high school. T ...

Playing career

Arthur scored 6,557 runs playing for

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, w ...

and South Africa A before retiring in 2001.

Coaching career

South Africa

Arthur began his coaching career by coaching

Griqualand West cricket team Northern Cape (formerly Griqualand West) is a first-class cricket team that nominally represents the South African province of Northern Cape in the CSA Provincial Competitions. The team is selected and supported by Northern Cape Cricket and plays ...

in the domestic competition before taking over the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...

side in 2003. In his last two series in charge Arthur managed to guide them to the finals of the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. He was a surprising choice to take over as the national coach in May 2005, succeeding Ray Jennings. He had a tough introduction into international cricket with his first two Test series as coach happening to be against a rampant Australia, both away and at home, during which

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

were easily beaten. An injury-hit South Africa failed to make the finals of the 2005–06

VB Series The Australian Tri-Series was an annual one day international (ODI) cricket tournament held in Australia, and contested by Australia and two touring teams. The series was the primary format for international one-day cricket throughout most of t ...

, but they did clinch a tense one-day series win over Australia at home, which culminated in an iconic match at Johannesburg. A home win over

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

was followed up by a disastrous tour of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in the summer of 2006, where South Africa lost both Tests and pulled out of a tri-series after a bomb exploded in Colombo, and failure to make the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. Successes include back-to-back Test and one-day series victories against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

at home propelled South Africa to the top of the ODI rankings. This was a major boost prior to the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

. South Africa were, however, disappointing at the world cup. They had a roller coaster ride that included dominant wins over England, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and a narrow win over

but devastating losses to Australia, New Zealand and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

that cost them the number one ranking. Then they bowed out in the semifinals with their lowest ever score in a World Cup as Australia bowled them out for 149 and won by 7 wickets. The preceding two years had been the best in

's test history. Starting with the two home series wins at home against

and

, Arthur lead the team through a series of 9 unbeaten test series and a number of good one-day results. This streak included wins against

and

at home and away wins against England,

and a credible draw in

. In 2008, Arthur became the first South African coach to guide his team to a test win in Australia. The team backed up this performance by winning the resulting

One-Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cu ...

series against the odds. This unexpected 4–1 win meant that they regained the No.1 ranking in the

rankings. During the 2005/06 tour to Australia, he questioned the umpiring standards, claiming that the officials were biased due to overappealing by the

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) ...

. He was cleared of the charges. In January 2010 he resigned because of alleged differences between himself and

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South A ...

. The reports say Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Gerald Majola will oversee the interim selection process with former South African fast bowler Corrie van Zyl and former South African captain

Kepler Wessels Kepler Christoffel Wessels (born 14 September 1957) is a South African-Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia. Since retiring he has been a lawn bowls competitor. He ...

for the two-Test and three-ODI tour of India.

Australia

Arthur was the coach of the

Western Warriors The Western Australian Men’s cricket team, formerly nicknamed the Western Warriors, represent the Australian state of Western Australia in Australian domestic cricket. The team is selected and supported by the Western Australian Cricket Ass ...

and later coached the Australian cricket team. During the 2013 Australian tour of India, Arthur was criticised for his role in the ''Homeworkgate'' scandal, where he required members of the team to complete homework. He continued to coach the team until the Champions Trophy-2013 in England, where Australia crashed out in the group stages. As a pre-emptive measure ahead of the upcoming Ashes series in England, Mickey Arthur was sacked and replaced by

Darren Lehmann Darren Scott Lehmann (born 5 February 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who coached the Australian national team. Lehmann made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection f ...

. In August 2013, Arthur was appointed as the head coach and director of cricket at

Christ Church Grammar School , motto_translation = God is our leader, learning is our light , established = , founder = William Joseph McClemans , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day and boarding school , gender = Boys , denomin ...

, an Anglican all-boys' school in Perth, Western Australia. In 2016, Arthur became a naturalised

Australian citizen Australian nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds Australian legal nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is appli ...

Karachi Kings

He was appointed as the head coach of

Karachi Kings Karachi Kings ( ur, ; sd, ڪراچي ڪنگز) (abbreviated as KK) is a Pakistani professional franchise Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, P ...

in the debut season of

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...

which was held from 4 February 2016 to 23 February 2016 in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. They came fourth in a five-team group table due to which they had to play third-placed

Islamabad United Islamabad United ( ur, ) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It was the inaugural champion of the Pakistan Super League. The team is based in Islamabad, the capital c ...

in the elimination round, where they lost by 9 wickets and were knocked-out of the tournament. On 13 November 2019, he was replaced by Dean Jones as the head coach.

Dhaka Dynamites

He was appointed as the head coach of Dhaka Dynamites for 2015 BPL season.

Pakistan

He was appointed as head coach of the

Pakistan Cricket Team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...

on 6 May 2016, thus becoming a head coach of an international team for the third time. He has had his fair share of success with Pakistan. Under his guidance Pakistan became the number one ranked test and T20 side. He coached Pakistan to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy title on 18 June, with a stunning 180 run victory against arch-rivals India in the finals. This was the first time

managed to win

ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The 2013 tournament was intended to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy, but it was extended to 2017 due to i ...

since the inception of the tournament in 1998. Following the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy win, Pakistan whitewashed Sri Lanka in an ODI and T20 series after losing the Test series. On 8 July 2018, Pakistan won a triangular series among Zimbabwe, Australia and Pakistan. Pakistan defeated Australia in the final with 6 wickets. Pakistan maintained their no. 1 ranking in T20. On 7 August 2019, the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Counc ...

chose not to renew Arthur's contract as coach of the national side. Arthur is expected to return as head coach of Pakistan after Saqlain Mustaq's contract ends in February 2023.

Sri Lanka

Appointed as the coach of Sri Lanka cricket since Feb 2020 - November 2021

Derbyshire

Arthur works for Derbyshire since November 2021

Dambulla Aura

Mickey Arthur works for Dambulla Aura as the head coach in the Lanka Premier

References

External links

*
ICC Trophy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Mickey 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Johannesburg South African people of British descent Coaches of the South Africa national cricket team Coaches of the Australia national cricket team Free State cricketers Griqualand West cricketers South African cricket coaches South African cricketers White South African people Big Bash League coaches Pakistan Super League coaches Bangladesh Premier League coaches South African emigrants to Australia South African expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan Coaches of the Pakistan national cricket team Australian cricket coaches Australian expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan Naturalised citizens of Australia Coaches of the Sri Lanka national cricket team