Buchanan to quit after World Cup

Ricky Ponting insists John Buchanan's role in the Australian side has been under-rated by outsiders over the past seven years and hopes the team orchestrates an ideal send-off when he steps down after the World Cup. Buchanan confirmed he would walk away in April as his "shelf life" with the squad was almost up, but he is in negotiations with Cricket Australia to continue as a consultant.

Ponting has played under Bob Simpson and Geoff Marsh, Australia's only other two coaches, and said Buchanan was the "most well-planned and thorough coach and the best manager of people I have worked under". "A lot of John's contributions over the past few years have been looked over, as has been the case for a lot of the other staff around the team," Ponting said. "John's never one to go looking for acknowledgment, but the players are very aware of what he's been able to do for the team."

Buchanan's decision to depart has been expected since he signed a contract extension during the Super Series last October and over the past couple of months candidates have started to emerge. Ponting will have a significant say in the replacement and he listed a handful of contenders as the team's camp switched from bush adventure to resort luxury at the Hyatt Coolum on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

"As far as I'm concerned, coaching is about understanding individual players and the techniques of the players," he said. "Greg Chappell will be one of the guys mentioned and Tim Nielsen and Tom Moody will be as well. We just have to make sure we are paying attention to all the important things between now and then and hopefully give John the appropriate send off."

Shane Warne suggested last week Australia would be better placed with a manager in charge, but with the team about to go through a major restructuring owing to the exits of several long-serving players, Ponting believed a coach was essential. "You are always looking for someone with experience to run a really good program, whether they have international experience or not is not a huge factor," he said. "The relationship between the coach and the players is the biggest deal, so whoever comes in has to be able to do that."

Buchanan said the end of the World Cup was an appropriate time in cricket's cycle to conclude his role. "There were a few things in the decision," he said. "One is family, it will have been seven and a half years with the Australian team at that point, which is a long time on the road. The second reason is I believe in the shelf life of coaching, not that I'm prescribing that for every coach, but for me personally I'm near that point."

Working in sport and business are Buchanan's post-World Cup aims and an appointment as a coach of Australia's coaches is a possibility. A full-time position as the head of the academy is unlikely, although assisting the facility could form part of his overall brief. "I am in some negotiations with Cricket Australia about an on-going role there," he said, "but it would be one away from the Australian cricket team."

The first achievement in Buchanan's coaching regime, which began in Brisbane in 1999, was to guide Australia to a world-record 16 Test wins in a row, a streak starting in Zimbabwe a match before Buchanan took charge and ending in Kolkata in 2001. He was also monitoring proceedings from the dressing-room during the 2003 World Cup victory and ranked watching the side break the 400-run barrier in a one-day match earlier this year as one of his highs. "Unfortunately the second team did it straight after us," he said of South Africa's unbelievable run chase to reach 9 for 438 at Johannesburg.

Chosen as a left-field appointment to replace Marsh, Buchanan was not the stereotypical coach with a kitbag full of Tests and a win-at-all-costs mentality. He played seven first-class games for Queensland in the 1970s and instead brought a scientific and educational approach, continually challenging the players by making them write poetry, read ancient war tactics or look at their games differently.

Over the past week he joined the squad in an army-style boot camp that opened his final summer in charge. "One of the things I'm very happy with is what we've achieved over the last four days," he said of the exercise. "Whether or not it impacts immediately, it's definitely going to have some long term benefits."

As an important backroom figure in one of the game's greatest outfits, Buchanan has also elevated the role of coach in the modern cricket hierarchy. During his reign the Test team has won 64 of its 85 matches while the one-day unit has been successful in 135 of 182 fixtures.