Buchanan eager to begin New Zealand job

Former Australia coach John Buchanan, who will take charge as New Zealand's director of cricket in May, "can't wait to get my teeth" into the role.

"I understand there have been some performances that haven't necessarily endeared the Black Caps to its public, and there have been some other issues around the side as well," Buchanan said.

"But when you come into these roles there's going to be a range of challenges, and that's why you take on the job because you do believe you can make a real difference."

Buchanan, who will be in charge of the high-performance programme, said that he was keen to make New Zealand Cricket (NZC) "a template for high-performance sport". Buchanan will also oversee the selection panel and implement a talent identification system, and said he didn't foresee any problems working with New Zealand coach John Wright.

"I'm very confident John and I can work well together but we've only had a very brief chat," he said. "There's still a lot of discussion between he and I how both roles fit together. In my mind I think it will work exceptionally well."

New Zealand reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, but suffered a string of poor performances in the lead-up to the tournament. They toured the subcontinent last year and were beaten 4-0 by Bangladesh in a five-match ODI series in October. This was followed by 0-1 loss to India in a two-Test series and a 0-5 loss in the ODI series. New Zealand then played Pakistan at home and though they won the three-match Twenty20 series, they lost both the Test and ODI series that followed. Buchanan however was confident of the team's prospects.

"We always found New Zealand to be extremely competitive," he said. "New Zealand teams have always punched above their weight, but really what we want to do is have them punch for 15 rounds and be a heavyweight contender and not just a lightweight contender."