Mickey Arthur. The Australians are taking the Mickey out of South Africa. Literally.

Like all good South Africans who are seeking a career beyond these shores, Mickey Arthur has come up with a foreign relative to back-up his new-found allegiance.
Yes, the 43-year-old apparently has sheepish Australian great-grandfather to go with the job as Australia’s first foreign national cricket coach.
So next time you see the former Proteas coach being interviewed after a squeaky Test victory, expect to hear him referring to sheep shearing, Kyle Minogue, Dame Edna Everage and sheilas rather than braai vleis, Sonia Herholdt, Evita Bezuidenhout and poppies.
It’s a sad truth that Kevin Pietersen and the gang of Anglo-South Africans – Matt Prior, Craig Kieswetter, Jade Dernbach and Jonathan Trott to naam maar a phew – feel the need to claim some sentimental allegiance rather than just the bright new passport.
But for Mickey to take that road comes as a bit of a shock. He goes into his new job with a series against neighbours New Zealand and I guess we can expect the instant switch of allegiances to go as far as reflecting the usual Aussie disdain for the Kiwis at The Gabba this week.

The first Test starts on December 1 and Arthur is already creating waves, picking four uncapped players including three sparkling new pacemen: Mitchell Starc, Ben Cutting and James Pattinson.

His first match in charge will be marked by the absence of FIVE of the men who recently toured South Africa: Shane Watson (hamstring), Mitchell Johnson (foot), Shaun Marsh (back) and Ryan Harris (pelvis) and Pat Cummins (heel).
Arthur took his new job at a fascinating juncture – just hours after Australia had wriggled out of a series defeat against South Africa at The Wanderers, chasing down a record 310 to win the second and final Test by just two wickets.
That they eventually drew the series 1-1 and avoided being the first since Bobby Simpson’s 1970 tourists to lose in South Africa had little to do with soon-to-be-appointed Arthur, more to do with captain Graeme Smith’s bizarre field-placings and bowling changes. No disrespect meant, Biff. Obviously.
John Michael Arthur, born in Johannesburg on May 17, 1968, went to Westville Boys’ High in Durban and scored 6,657 first class runs, including 13 centuries, in a career which was mired largely in Griqualand West and the Free State. He never played for the Proteas.
It was as a coach he truly excelled, leading South Africa from 2005 to 2010, a period which saw the nation rise to the top of the world rankings in Test and One-Day cricket – but when it came to the World Cups, he never quite succeeded in helping the Proteas rid themselves of the infamous “chokers” tag.
He fell out with Cricket South Africa – most do - and eventually moved to Australia to coach the Western Warriors in Perth.

When he parted company with that nice Gerald Majola bloke at CSA, captain Biff said: "It hurts to see him move aside. Mickey was integral in bringing stability and a lot of calmness to the side and he can be proud of what he achieved."

Arthur takes over the reins of his new country insisting: ''I don't think that it will matter, me being an outsider. You get respect straight away when you actually get the job but then you've got got to earn it during your period of time. I think I've earned that with any team I've been with and ultimately you wanted to be regarded and perceived as the best for the job irrespective of your nationality.
''My great grandfather was Australian and I will be looking to get residency here, so I really do feel I have an affinity with Australia.''
Grasping a contract which will see him through until after the 2015 World Cup, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand, he enthuses: ''To be coaching a team of the ilk of Australia is something I'm very, very proud about. I think I bring an unblinkered view, a view that having coached and analysed against a lot of Australian players during my time, but also having worked in the Australian system for the last year and a half I think I have got pretty much a really good idea of where we need to go with the team and what we need to do to have sustainable success over the next period of time.
''Every team I've ever coached, I've had a view on selection. I think that gives you a lot of credibility in the dressing room.''
His role as a selector leads, of course, to the inevitable question: What to do with former captain Ricky Ponting, who scored just eight runs in three innings this month in South Africa before a defiant – and match-turning – half-century in that epic win at The Wanderers.
Arthur growled: “I'll defer that to the first selection meeting,'' before a slight contradiction of his earlier comments about being an outsider: ''It's hard coming in from the outside without knowing what's going on in the team. We need a lot of information on that, something for (chairman of selectors) John Inverarity to take up.''

As it turns out, with five major injuries and four new caps, Ponting has been selected - and is likely to play on Thursday.
Though most cricket-speaking South Africans will wish “King Arthur” well in his new job, while fervently hoping Australia lose every game against his former homeland, Mickey himself concludes: “Australian cricket is in a very exciting phase. There are a lot of good young players coupled with the legends in the senior players. Young players need to be given quality opportunities."
Lest we forget: Arthur guided South Africa to a Test series win over Australia in 2008 - the first by any team on Australian soil in 15 years and a streak of nine unbeaten Test series.

King Arthur in court as England threaten to take the Mickey

YOU only have to listen to South African coach Mickey Arthur to know just how well England’s cricketers have done here this winter.

The hyper-confident Arthur, 41, is a shadow of the man who took his nation to the top of the rankings in both Tests and One-Dayers last year.

As he approaches Thursday’s final Test at the Wanderers where a draw will give England the four-match series 1-0, Arthur (pictured) groans: “We’ve got to gamble because we have to win this Test. There is no option.

"I know the boys are smarting, and they want to come out and get a result. I think we've just got better and better in the series, apart from a day and a half in Durban.
"I think we've played good enough cricket for the series to be one-all.”

Having seen his side denied by England’s No 11 bat Graham Onions in the first and third Tests, further heartbreak is unthinkable for Arthur, whose men were crushed by an innings and 98 runs at the second clash in Durban.

Deep inside the main stand of Africa’s largest cricket arena – the “Bull Ring” holds 34,000, more than any English Test ground – Johannesburg-born Arthur said: "The gamble will be in the style of cricket we play. It will have to be a little bit more positive, which is a good thing.

"I thought we attacked England very well at Newlands in the New Year Test. We attacked at exactly the right times, and we're more battle-hardened now.”

Of course gambling in cricket is not just about style. It’s about just how much grass your willing to leave on the wicket. This one might just look like a jungle with groundsman Chris Scott told to go easy on the mower when he tends strip No5 for the biggest game of the summer here.

Arthur, a shock choice when he was appointed South Africa coach in 2005, grins: “It’s no secret I’ve had a word with the groundsman. You can take grass off but you can’t put the grass back on.

"We'll just have to see what the weather conditions are going to be for the five days."

A grassy strip will favour the seamers and nullify the impact of the current top wicket-taker in the series, Graeme Swann, who has racked up 19 wickets with furious finger spin.

England will keep faith with Swann and though Ryan Sidebottom was the subject of much scrutiny in nets yesterday, they are likely to stay unchanged for four Tests for the first time since 1884.

Arthur – a successful but unspectacular batsman in his day with the less glamorous provinces here - has no choice but to ring the changes. With seamer Friedel De Wet suffering long-term injury to his back, Arthur must turn to Wayne Parnell for this one, resisting the temptation to return to Makhaya Ntini, the black veteran of 101 caps who would the political choice.

Parnell will make his Test debut having only played in one-dayers but Arthur says this is the first time he’ll have a full fit attack: "Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis didn’t bowl in Centurion and they weren’t quite fit in Durban, and in Cape Town, Friedel was injured in his fifth over

“ We'll have a look at the pitch on Wednesday afternoon. I don't like going in without a spinner, and I think Harry (Paul Harris) has done a tremendous job for us."

Arthur, an outspoken coach who will always come under pressure from the powers-that-be when his side slips up, accepts: “There's always pressure in international sport. We've got to remain confident, and our captain Graeme Smith and I have got to make sure that the players are not getting any negative vibes from our body language.
"I can’t deny our dressing room was a very disappointed place after the Test match in Cape Town, but the positives that we took out of it far outweighed the negatives.
"Even though we drew the game, I felt that we strung together really good pieces of play over those five days.”

Kallis comeback a blow for England

ENGLAND received a significant blow to their chances of winning the Test series in South Africa this morning when the hosts confirmed the world’s top all-rounder Jacques Kallis has declared himself fit for Centurion tomorrow.

Day one of the first Test would have been far more comfortable for Andrew Strauss’s men had Kallis’s rib injury ruled him out, but it appears a programme of oxygen-chamber treatment has been enough to get South Africa’s key man ready in a four-match series they need to win 2-0 to return to the top of the world rankings.

The good news? Kallis (left) may only be able to bat and there are signs of tension within the South African camp over the call up of paceman Friedel de Wet on standby for Kallis or Dale Steyn, South Africa’s highest ranked bowler.

Mike Procter, the former Gloucestershire all-rounder and current head of selectors here, sent opening bat Alvrio Petersen, all-rounder Ryan McLaren and – much to chagrin of coach Mickey Arthur – paceman Wayne Parnell back to their provinces today after yet another stormy afternoon in Centurion.

Despite allegations in this week’s Johannesburg Sunday Times that he didn’t see eye to eye with Procter over the selection of De Wet, Arthur said: "We are happy with the state of readiness of all squad members to play in the first Test on Wednesday. Both Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn should be fit to take their places.

"We are keeping Friedel de Wet on standby as a like-for-like replacement for Dale. There is always the chance with bowlers that Dale could wake up on the morning of the match with a recurrence of his hamstring problem and we don't want to have to scramble around for a last-minute replacement."

Procter defended his choice of De Wet ahead of Parnell insisting: "Friedel had a good season last year and I've seen him bowl recently on some pretty flat tracks at East London and at Johannesburg so he's a player worth looking at and we'll see what comes out of it.”

If Kallis can’t bowl and Steyn’s hamstring is still dodgy, De Wet could be a vital part of the South African attack next to Makhaya Ntini, the near-legendary seamer who makes his 100^th Test appearance on Wednesday.

Despite yesterday’s broadside from England’s Stuart Broad, suggesting the South Africans may be a little rusty after three months without Test cricket, Ntini – who became the first black man to play for South Africa against Sri Lanka at Newlands in 1998 aged 20 - insisted: "Of course we favourites. We are on our home grounds and will have a lot of support."

Ntini, hoping to add to the 388 Test wickets which have put him 11^th best in the history of Test cricket, insists: “Guys these days are not working hard enough to take their chances. They don’t have to work as hard as I did. It would be nice to see black cricketers given more opportunities – and taking them.

“They are not hungry enough to do well. They play one or two games and think they are part and parcel of the team. When I started out, I was the fifth choice. I took advice and practiced to get in the team.”

But turning to England without his old foe Andrew Flintoff, he said: "They've lost one of their major players in Freddie. He was the one who made a huge impact. Losing the pillar of the team means we have a better chance - because he was always the guy that intimidated us.'' England appear to be injury free after the early spate of problems on tour. James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have both snubbed the IPL circus once more, looked lethal out in the middle yesterday after shoulder and knee problems.

After Broad’s rousing rallying cry (see below), the only England player under the weather – and it’s pretty bad weather here – is Yorkshire leg spinner Adil Rashid.

He was given a tough time in the nets by Kevin Pietersen and the big hitters at Pretoria University and that was followed by the news that uncapped Kent off-spinner James Tredwell has been called up to the Test squad, leaving Rashid to languish in the Performance Programme squad. Tredwell will make his debut on Wednesday if the in-form, full-of-life Graeme Swann has a recurrence of his back injury.

Coach Andy Flower said: “Graeme’s injury is improving and we expect him to be available for Wednesday. But with a further three Tests to come after Centurion we have decided that we need a ‘like for like’ replacement on hand for Graeme should this be required later in the tour.” While Rashid has been struggling with bat and ball Tredwell made 70 for the Performance squad against Nashua Titans President’s Xl last week.

Oh... and my blog on Stuart Broad yesterday was the back page lead on the London Evening Standard yesterday... see

http://standardonline.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

South Africa face public rift as Anderson struggles

SOUTH AFRICA are facing a major internal fall-out before the first Test against England at Centurion next week.

Yesterday the nation’s top-selling newspaper, the Johannesburg Sunday Times, claimed a “chasm” has opened up between controversial coach Mickey Arthur and head of selectors Mike Procter.

South Africa named an expanded squad of 15 for Centurion yesterday as they struggle to cope with all-rounder Jacques Kallis’s rib injury and paceman Dale Steyn’s hamstring problem.

The conflict between Arthur and Procter, who made his name as a paceman with Gloucestershire in the 70s, centres on the roles of seamers Wayne Parnell and Friedel de Wet.

Procter watched De Wet in action with England reject Monty Panesar for the Johannesburg Lions against Durban’s Dolphins at The Wanderers for three days last week and said:. "De Wet was running in with a big heart. In Test cricket you need pace and he's a genuine fast bowler. Guys can rise to the occasion and guys can fall by the wayside. I think he'll respond well if given the chance."

But Arthur is known to prefer Parnell, who played in the one-day series. When Procter, at Sun City for the golf classic on Sunday, was asked how deep the chasm has become, he said: "What happens is that you get differences of opinion. Mickey doesn't agree with everything I say and I don't agree with everything he says. I think that's pretty healthy."

A public rift at the highest level is unlikely to help South Africa’s confidence, which has already taken a battering before the first Test on 16 December. Rain in Durban on Friday handed Andrew Strauss’s men an unlikely 2-1 win over the hosts in the four-match one-day showdown – the hosts first home series defeat since 2002 - and India’s win over Sri Lanka yesterday pushed South Africa down to No2 in the world Test rankings.

The Proteas need a 2-0 or 3-1 win over England, fifth in the rankings, to snatch back top spot. England have problems of their own with the news that Jimmy Anderson, who took a best-ever 5-23 in the ODI win at Port Elizabeth eight days ago (pictured), has stayed in Durban for treatment on his injured knee.

While the rest of the squad flew to East London for their warm-up games against a South African invitation side this week, Anderson’s knee has got the England physios scratching their heads.

He needed a cortisone injection before his heroics last week and uncapped Durham seamer Mark Davies has been called up from the Performance Squad as cover for Anderson with Ryan Sidebottom also struggling.

Davies only played nine championship matches for Durham last year, taking 19 wickets at 29.6, but grabbed 6-76 for the Performance Squad against Gauteng in Pretoria last week.

Anderson was set to fly home for treatment before his remarkable recovery in Port Elizabeth, where he also revealed he injured a toe while kicking a locker in the defeat at Newlands in Cape Town 11 days ago.

Anderson’s former Lancashire and England captain Michael Vaughan, forced into retirement by his own knee problems, said: “I know as much as anybody about knees and I hate this talk of Jimmy's problem. There must be something wrong for them to have talked about him coming home.

"It's so important he stays fit because he's got the ability to make a difference with the ball that no other England player has at the minute."

Stormy start for England, and it's pretty soggy in the middle too

MICKEY ARTHUR, the South African coach who has seen his side lose their last five One-Day Internationals against England, chose to have another tilt at young Adil Rashid before today's rain-threatened opening 50-over clash at the Wanderers. With England suffering an injury crisis, Arthur will be hoping the ground - flooded by a typical early summer Highveld thunder storm yesterday - dries out in time for his side to pick up an early win in the five-match series. England have called up Kent's James Tredwell, 27, who took 95 wickets in all forms of the game last summer, to replace the stricken Graeme Swann, who has a side injury. But initially Rashid, 21, looks likely to be England's recognised slow bowler, despite figures of 0-44 against South Africa A at Potchefstroom earlier in the week and a disastrous over which went for four sixes in last Sunday's Twenty20 hammering. Arthur, whose side lost the last series 4-0 and were upset by England in the Champions Trophy at Centurion last month, said: "Rashid's the logical choice, but it will be interesting to see if Tredwell steps ahead of him. It would justify my saying that it doesn't look like England have faith in Rashid." Arthur expressed surprise when Rashid was taken off after just one over when he conceded those 25 runs at Centurion last week, leading to heated debate between the two sides who will do battle until the last day of the final Test, scheduled for the Wanderers on January 18 next year. Arthur, linked to the England job when Peter Moores left in January, added further spice by saying: "We will take some confidence from scoring at 12 an over against them last Sunday and the England bowlers would have had to go back, think about and analyse their performance. I know we would have after a day like that. "We played particularly well on Sunday, but England have played very well against us before that. They are still a work in progress, but they are a very good side and they can beat anyone on their day." England captain Andrew Strauss, who chose to sit out the two Twenty20 clashes, insists: "I don't think I've ever seen an England squad more motivated to do well. "Tredwell is definitely an option. He has deserved his chance, he has performed very well for Kent over a long period of time and is a very canny one-day operator. "But Rashid is improving all the time and the more exposure he gets the better. He needs to play too, but it's important that we get the right player for the game. Clearly, it's important that we have both options. "The 4-0 series win in England was a long time ago, in very different conditions. But we will take some confidence from beating them in a pressure situation out here in the Champions Trophy. "South Africa at home are hard to beat, they've shown that time and time again, but I like the way we've prepared and I like the brand of cricket we've played." Swann and Notts team-mate Stuart Broad (shoulder) are both definitely out of today's game while Paul Collingwood - aiming to make his record 171st ODI appearance to better Alec Stewart's record - and James Anderson face fitness tests today. Anderson lamented on twitter last night: "Rain washed out practice today. Looks bleak for tomorrow - ground underwater and not a great forecast."