Australia Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 23 November 2011 /

Never mind the debates about foreign and native coaches, Mickey Aruthur has a strong vision for Australian cricket and Ralph Ellis believes he can succeed...

Jamie Carragher has the most simplistic view about choosing a national team manager. He has said the England team should have the best English coach in charge, the best English physio looking after the players, and come to that the best English coach driver at the wheel of the bus on the way to the game.

Sadly life isn't that easy. When Fabio Capello walks away after Euro 2012 next summer there will inevitably be complications. The very English Harry Redknapp is supposed to be the man to succeed him, but will Spurs be so keen to let him go? Especially if in the meantime his free flowing side have justified their current odds-on price of [1.84] to qualify for the Champions League.

And in another sport, how would Carragher classify Nick Mallett, who is emerging as the main contender to Northampton's Jim Mallinder to fill Martin Johnson's job in charge of the England rugby team? Mallett was born in England, but raised in what's now Zimbabwe, and then moved to South Africa where he still lives. Can he boss all three countries? Or none of them?

They have been having these debates Down Under where South African Mickey Arthur has just become the first foreigner to take the job of Australia's cricket coach. Arthur, the man who inspired South Africa's period as the best in the world, has been living in Perth for a couple of years as boss of West Australia, and has made all the right noises about his family wanting to be citizens. But it hasn't stopped the same sort of lively debate that followed Sven Goran Eriksson's appointment back here a decade ago.

Arthur has a huge job as the man chosen in the wake of the Ashes debacle to restore the fortunes of a proud cricketing nation. He's got to decide whether to follow the mood of the country which wants to shuffle Ricky Ponting into premature retirement, or go for a smoother transition. Ponting proved he still belongs at Test level on Monday with a superb innings of 62 that helped Australia achieve a record run chase. (Good news if you'd followed the tip in this column to back the Aussies at [3.6]).

I like the fact that he's not looking beyond the short term objective of winning his first series - ironically another two-Test affair against New Zealand who just happen to be managed by Aussie John Buchanan, the man who oversaw the country's best years. Confused? No wonder!

The emergence of 18-year-old Pat Cummins as match winner with ball and bat in Johannesburg proves that there is young Australian talent, and a pragmatic mix of promise with experience will be just right for Arthur to make his mark. The Aussies are [2.02] to get their new coach's career off the ground with a 2-0 series victory and that looks like a very good way to reinvest some of last week's winnings.

Five things you might not know about Mickey Arthur

1. Born May 1968 in Johannesburg, his great grandfather was an Australian who moved to South Africa for the mining industry

2. He scored 6,657 first class runs for Orange Free State, Griqualand West and South Africa A but never got picked for the Test team

3. South Africa's captain Graeme Smith described him as "the world's most optimistic man". Then they had plenty to feel good about - as skipper and coach the pair went unbeaten through a run of nine Test series.

4. He charges between £6,500 and £10,000 for giving motivational talks to business conferences

5. He celebrated masterminding South Africa's first ever Test series win in 2007 by jumping off the boat where the players were holding a party and swimming in Sydney Harbour

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