Buchanan signed on for two more years

John Buchanan, Australia's coach, has been awarded a new two-year contract by Cricket Australia (CA). He will remain Australia's coach until October 2005, and will be in charge when Australia chase their ninth successive Ashes victory in the winter of that year.

Buchanan had taken over from Geoff Marsh in October 1999, and was at the helm during Australia's most fertile phase in Test cricket. Under his charge, Australia consolidated their position as the world's No. 1 Test team, winning a record 16 Tests in a row at one point (15 of them came after Buchanan took over). They thrashed South Africa 5-1 in what was billed as the unofficial world championship of Test cricket, and went on to win the one-day World Cup in 2003 without dropping a single game.

Speaking after being awarded this new contract, Buchanan said: "The last four years have been a wonderful experience for me and I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity to be associated with the Australian team for another two years. We have had a great deal of success so far but now the challenge is to raise the bar again and we will be trying to do just that. As well as looking to maintain the high levels of performance we have achieved at times over the past four years, we have also got tangible targets to aim for."

James Sutherland, CA's chief executive, said, "We are very pleased to have been able to extend John's contract. Since his appointment John has played a major role in Australia's international success. The Australian Test and one-day international sides are now regarded as the best in the world and one of the reasons for that is because we have a world-class support team. In aiming to maintain this success, Cricket Australia has identified the importance of continuity in the team management structure."