LAHORE: Former Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur and his support staff have decided to part ways with the country’s cricket board nearly two months after they were unceremoniously removed from their respective posts following the national side’s dismal World Cup campaign.

Arthur, former head coach Grant Bradburn and ex batting coach Andrew Puttick were asked to report at the National Cricket Academy here in November following their removal after Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.

Morne Morkel, part of Arthur’s staff as the bowling coach, had resigned days after but the director himself, Bradburn and Puttick had not acted or spoken over the developments immediately and had flown out of Pakistan

On Monday, however, the trio reached an amicable solution with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after returning to address the situation, sources told Dawn. Under the deal, Arthur, Bradburn and Puttick will be paid salaries of three months in advance before letting go of their jobs.

Arthur’s handpicked staff included physiotherapist Cliff Deacon and strength and conditioning coach Drikus Saaimon, but both were retained in the roles following the former skipper Mohammad Hafeez’s appointment as the team director and a new coaching staff under him.

Arthur was appointed in the directorial role by former PCB interim management committee chairman Najam Sethi. He, however, was simultaneously working as the head coach of English county side Derbyshire and carried out his Pakistan duties remotely.

The South African joined the national side’s dressing room during the Asia Cup in September and was with the team throughout the tournament and the World Cup that followed.

Pakistan finished fourth in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup, in which archrivals India subjected them to a 228-run drubbing. In the World Cup, they won only four of their nine matches and after the tournament, the side’s then skipper Babar Azam stepped down from the position.

Babar’s resignation was the earliest move in the revamp of the Pakistan team management before Hafeez was appointed as director, Wahab Riaz as chief selector, Shan Masood as Test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the T20I skipper.

In Hafeez’s first assignment, Pakistan lost the recent three-match Test series against Australia 3-0.

In 2017, Arthur had led Pakistan to Champions Trophy triumph as the head coach before he was denied a contract extension by the PCB after the team’s failure to make the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup.

When Sethi took charge in January last year, he reappointed Arthur owing to his healthy working relationship with the 55-year-old.

Sethi was vocal about his trust in Arthur’s abilities, especially due to his previous achievements with the Pakistan team and insisted him to work for the outfit again.

But that and Arthur’s bitter 2019 experience saw Sethi compromise on Arthur’s Derbyshire role and was acceptable of the coach managing two professional sides at the same time.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2024