'My vision is to stay ahead of Australia' - Arthur

Mickey Arthur, in an interview with Kolkata's Telegraph, says that fours years of coaching South Africa has been a treat and a major accomplishment. He credits his hitting it off with Graeme Smith as crucial to his job and his relationship with the team, and admits that everything he does is with a transformation bias. Excerpts:

How have you handled pressure?
(Smiles) It has been an enjoyable journey... I’ve grown as an individual and I’ve seen respect for me grow... When I got the job, it was ‘Mickey who’?... It’s rather different now... I see myself as a cricket thinker and my degree is cricket... I backed myself when I got the job and I’ve continued to back myself. Pressure comes with the territory.

The captain, quite clearly, is the boss...
Ultimately it’s the captain, yes... Of course, the coach too is accountable. Within the South African team, Graeme and I are clear about responsibilities... I run the show till the match-eve team meeting, Graeme takes over from there. I become his assistant.