KARACHI: Mickey Arthur is not a new name for Pakistan cricket. He was the head coach of a very successful South Africa team that toured this country in 2008.

Arthur, who was born in Johannesburg, will turn 48 on May 17. Now settled in Perth with his wife and three daughters, he succeeds Waqar Younis into the hot seat of Pakistan head coach with a lot to prove.

A right-handed batsman who played 110 first-class matches for Griqualand West, Orange Free State (later renamed as Free State) and South Africa ‘A’ between 1986-87 and 2000-01, Arthur scored 6657 runs at 33.45 with 165 the highest of his 13 hundreds.

Arthur also figured in 150 one-day (List A) games between 1987-88 and 1999-00 and in which he made 3774 runs at 26.76 with an undefeated 126 the best of two centuries.

But it was in the role of a coach that made Arthur a household name in the cricketing world. After his playing days were behind him, he took over the coaching role at Griqualand West before switching over to the Eastern Cape side and helped them to domestic T20 finals in the last two seasons.

When Ray Jennings quit as head coach of South Africa in May 2005, the man chosen to succeed the former first-class wicket-keeper was Arthur. Teaming up with Graeme Smith, who was just into his third year as South Africa national skipper, Arthur took time to settle down.

Australia ruthlessly brushed aside South Africa in the away and home series in 2005-06 by winning five of the six matches, while the Proteas also failed to make tri-series finals Down Under.

But Arthur oversaw his charges overhaul Australia’s the then world-record total of 434-4 in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by reaching 438-9 in 49.5 overs.

That incredible result was the inspiration that both Arthur and Smith needed to kick off an era of South Africa dominance during which they also became the world’s top-ranked team.

Back-to-back Test and one-day series victories against India and Pakistan at home were followed by another defeat against Australia in the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup.

In 2008, Arthur masterminded the end of South Africa’s 43-year hiatus with their first series win in England since the end of apartheid. Smith was so inspired by Arthur’s contribution that he decided to give his man-of-the-match from the Edgbaston Test to the head coach.

However, their greatest triumph arrived later that year when they finally conquered Australia in the Test series for the first time on Australian soil after years of trying.

Just prior to that historic feat, South Africa handed Pakistan just their second Test loss at Karachi’s National Stadium with Arthur working diligently behind the scenes as Smith’s men went on to become the first team from the African continent to win a Test rubber on Pakistan soil.

The Proteas drew the last Test of that series at Lahore where Pakistan’s new chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq ironically made his final appearance in international career.

Following the end of his stint with South Africa in 2010 after developing serious differences with Smith and top officials of Cricket South Africa, Arthur took as head coach of Western Australia before taking over the Australian national team in November 2011 — the first foreigner to coach the Australians.

But unlike his South Africa assignments, Arthur endured mixed fortunes with Australia during a troubled phase in which serious breaches of discipline were reported from the Aussie camp.

The matter reached its nadir on the India tour in early 2013 when four players, including bowling spearhead Mitchell Johnson and vice-captain Shane Watson, were ineligible for Test selection after being embroiled in the infamous ‘homework-gate’ scandal.

Authur’s turbulent period with Australia cane to a humiliating end when Cricket Australia decided to fire the South African just 13 days before the 2013 Ashes series got underway and brought in Darren Lehmann.

Arthur managed to remain in the job in the less demanding world of T20 with Jamaica Tallawahs and Dhaka Dynamites before taking up the role with Karachi Kings during the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League, but strangely he was never given a top coaching role by any of the franchises in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

Richard Pybus, Geoff Lawson and Dave Whatmore all had been foreign head coach of Pakistan team but none came to match Bob Woolmer, who was easily the best foreign coach Pakistan ever had.

Only time will decide which way Arthur would be heading as he braces for probably the biggest challenges of his career. His foremost task will be ensure Pakistan do not suffer the humiliation of having to qualify for the 2019 World Cup if their one-day ranking doesn’t improve dramatically.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2016