Buchanan extends contract

John Buchanan considered walking away from his record-breaking role as Australian coach in the aftermath of the Ashes defeat. A month later he has convinced himself to stay and today extended his contract until the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Buchanan, who replaced Geoff Marsh in 1999 and immediately enjoyed a 16-Test winning streak, was reappointed on the recommendation of a Cricket Australia review committee that began assessing the game's direction between the fourth and fifth Ashes Tests. In England, Buchanan was criticised for a lack of off-field intervention as Australia struggled with reverse-swing, no-balls and an inability to raise their game.

With his current contract expiring this month, Buchanan said he thought about stepping aside. "That was one of the things that crossed my mind during the Ashes campaign and at the end of it," he said. "But I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't reached the conclusion that I wanted to continue, and I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have the support of Cricket Australia and the players."

Winning the Champions Trophy, the Ashes in 2006-07 and the World Cup remain Buchanan's goals and he said he would reconsider his coaching methods in a bid to making it possible. "We're all looking at the way we operate," he said. "One of the things that I always champion is that we're never satisfied and we're always looking for improvement."

The review committee, which includes Allan Border, Mark Taylor and the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, will also decide whether Buchanan will be given a team of specialist coaches after the success of Troy Cooley as the ECB's bowling mentor. "England set some benchmarks there which we can hopefully improve on and one of those is support staff," Buchanan said. The committee's findings will be released at a Cricket Australia board meeting in December.