by Jamie Lillywhite

Arthur will have a tough tour of Australia at the end of the year

The new coach of the South Africa team, Mickey Arthur, will not be very familiar to cricket followers.

But if the reactions of two former internationals are anything to go by, South African cricket chiefs have chosen to replace chalk with cheese.

The man he succeeds, Ray Jennings, was not a man for gentle diplomacy - he attempted to bash his team into shape rather than gently coax them to success.

But, according to Peter Kirsten and Jonty Rhodes, Arthur is quite the opposite.

The 37-year-old ended his playing career four years ago to begin a career in coaching, and has most recently been in charge of Eastern Cape Warriors, where he became known as Mighty Mickey.

He's done well and I think he's unlucky Kirsten on Ray Jennings

Kirsten reckons he was captain Graeme Smith's choice, and believes he and the senior players were desperate to get shot of Jennings.

"I don't know what they based Mickey's selection on," Kirsten told BBC Sport.

"I've been shunted out of South African cricket, but he's a nice guy, he gets on well with Anton Ferreira [head of professional coaching in South Africa] and has done all the right things."

Diplomacy was never a quality that could be attributed to Jennings, and Kirsten added: "He tended to say the wrong things and upset people, but he's done well and I think he's unlucky."

Opinion is divided in the professional game as to whether a top flight coach should have played at the highest level.

Mickey will get on with the job in his own quiet way Jonty Rhodes

"I think it helps," Kirsten said. "But I don't think (Australian coach) John Buchanan did, maybe that's the criteria they are trying to copy.

Rhodes believes the appointment of Arthur may prove to be a shrewd move.

"He's a student of the game, has a good cricket brain and is very enthusiastic," he told BBC Sport.

"He doesn't have much experience but that doesn't always count against you - sometimes if you don't know what you're supposed not to do you can achieve a lot of things!"

Rhodes believes a key factor in how Arthur fares in his new role will be the state of his relationship with skipper Smith.

"Graeme is a passionate guy, when facing the press or the opposition," he said. "This might be a good balance.

Some saw Jennings as too similar to the volatile Smith

"Graham Ford [South Africa coach 1999-2002] was a really quiet guy but he was passionate about what he did.

"He was also a tennis and rugby coach so had a good understanding of what players required from him."

Rhodes is convinced that an impressive Test record is no guarantee of success when it comes to coaching.

"Graham Ford didn't even play provincial cricket," he observed.

"It's not about what you've done as a player, it's how you conduct yourself.

"The South African team has now got a lot of strong characters, and you can get respect from being a quiet person.