Buchanan to quit after 2007 World Cup

John Buchanan's departure may coincide with Australia losing a collection of ageing players © Getty Images

John Buchanan, the Australia coach, says he will retire after next year's World Cup in the West Indies.

"That's what Cricket Australia and I have agreed to at this point," he told The Age. "If Cricket Australia felt as though I was still needed, I'd consider that. But basically I'm contracted till the end of the World Cup. I think that will be a good time to quit."

Buchanan, 52, took over the coach's role from Geoff Marsh after the 1999 World Cup and guided Australia to another title in 2003. He said that his decision to quit after the 2007 World Cup would provide Cricket Australia enough time to look for a replacement. "There will be a small break after the World Cup and that will be a reasonably appropriate time to hand over the mantle," Buchanan said. "We should be in a reasonable shape. I'm sure we will be, whether we've won the World Cup or not."

Buchanan slammed the media's negative image of coaches, saying that it was incorrect to see them as being of little use. "From certain sections of the media, past players and commentators, I think there's a total lack of understanding of what the coach does," he said. "A lot of their comments... I tend not to worry about them, because they are comments coming from ignorance."

Buchanan likened the coach's role to that of the head of a family. "There's guidance, there's counselling, there's discipline, there's sitting down and being a best mate, there's sitting down and giving a good kick in the pants. There's planning about how the family is going to go forward. The family grows, the family changes, you have to deal with that. We work and play together so we do operate more like a family," he said.