Mickey Arthur was the type of player who commanded universal respect through his dedication and always showed the attributes of being a good coach. He managed 6557 runs playing for Free State, Griqualand West and South Africa A before hanging up his boots in 2001. He coached Griquas in the domestic competition before taking over the Eastern Cape side in 2003, and guiding them to the finals of the Standard Bank Pro20 series in the last two seasons. He was a slightly surprising choice to take over as the national coach in May 2005, succeeding Ray Jennings.

His first two Test series as coach happened to be against a rampant Australia, both away and at home, and South Africa were easily brushed aside. In between, an injury-hit South Africa failed to make the finals of the 2005-06 VB Series, but they did clinch a tense one-day series win over Australia at home, which culminated in that match at Johannesburg. A home win over New Zealand was followed up by a disasturous tour of Sri Lanka 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. Arthur's recent successes include back-to-back Test and one-day series victories against India and Pakistan at home, and his next task is the biggest limited-overs tournament of them all, the World Cup.
Jamie Alter February 2007

Orange Free State 1990/91-1994/95
Griqualand West 1986/87-1989/90 and 1995/96

Education: Westville BHS
Junior Representative Cricket: Ntl Nuff 1984-86

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Jul 8, 2008 Mickey Arthur ponders his options ahead of the first Test against England © Getty Images

Apr 5, 2008 Mickey Arthur celebrates South Africa's win from the sidelines © Getty Images

Mar 31, 2008 Mickey Arthur during a training session in Ahmedabad © AFP

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