Misbah ul Haq is a general, a man of few words: Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur, Pakistan‘s coach, looks firmly determined to change the Pakistan team. He says his time with Pakistan has been fantastic yet frustrating at times. Apart from cracking the whip on the unfit ones, he also seems to be firmly determined to bring the culture of excellence in the Pakistan cricket.

He felt that the Test team was settled unit players knew their role and performed them well in the series against Alastair Cook’s Test side.

Asked if he agrees that the Test side is a well-settled one he said, “I do agree. There has been a little movement in that Sami Aslam has come in and done really well. Asad Shafiq batted at No. 4 (at The Oval), really took his chance and scored a hundred. There will be another batting position that becomes vacant at some stage. How we fill that I am not sure. That will probably be No. 6.

Arthur also admitted that it was his decision to drop Hafeez and put Asad Shafiq up the order. “Yes. Technically, Asad Shafiq is our best batsman. When he gets forward he is sideways on. Look at him: short, balanced, punches well off the front foot, cuts exceptionally well. At times I could almost visualise Sachin Tendulkar. That is high praise, and I have told him that.”

”When asked whose position had become vacant he said, ‘Asad Shafiq was moved to No. 3 [No. 4, because Yasir Shah came in as night watchman at 3] because [Mohammad] Hafeez was dropped. So that position has become available. There are people who want that position and somebody who fits the bill in terms of physical, mental, tactical and technical will get that role.”

When asked if the responsibility of keeping the Test side, in a healthy and form, lies more or less on the shoulders of Misbah-ul-Haq, he said, “A lot of it is down to Misbah. He took over in 2010 and what he has done for Pakistan cricket has been immense. I have had the pleasure of working with some very good captains in Graeme and Michael Clarke and Misbah is right up there. He is respected. When he talks, people listen. He is a general. He is a man of very few words.”