Arthur scored 6,557 runs playing for Orange Free State, Griqualand West and South Africa A before retiring in 2001.

He had a tough introduction into international cricket with his first two Test series as coach happening to be against a rampant Australia, both away and at home, during which South Africa were easily beaten.

A home win over New Zealand was followed up by a disastrous 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.

Successes include back-to-back Test and one-day series victories against India and Pakistan at home propelled South Africa to the top of the ODI rankings.

During the 2005/06 tour to Australia, he questioned the umpiring standards, claiming that the officials were biased due to overappealing by the Australian cricket team.

During the 2013 Australian tour of India, Arthur was criticised for his role in the Homeworkgate[9][10] scandal, where he required members of the team to complete homework.

As a pre-emptive measure ahead of the upcoming Ashes series in England, Mickey Arthur was sacked and replaced by Darren Lehmann.

They came fourth in a five-team group table due to which they had to play third-placed Islamabad United in the elimination round, where they lost by 9 wickets and were knocked-out of the tournament.

He coached Pakistan to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy title on 18 June, with a stunning 180 run victory against arch-rivals India in the finals.

He moved to bring in Suranga Lakmal[23] as an overseas player on a two-year deal and later added Shan Masood[24] for the solitary season.

After injuries and international duty caused both players to be unavailable for periods he also brought in Hilton Carwright[25] and Hayden Kerr.