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In this collection of pictures we shall know a teacher who became greatest coach in the world of cricket. We shall also know how Sourav Ganguly hurt him. Interestingly it's not Greh Chappel. Let's dive in.
John Buchanan is considered the greatest coach in cricket history. Under Buchanan's coaching, the Australian team won the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups. During this period, the Australian team did not lose a single match in both those World Cups. Buchanan turned 72 on Saturday (April 5).
John Buchanan also wanted to play international cricket for Australia, but he could not do anything special with the bat at the first class level. His first class career for Queensland (1978-79) lasted only seven matches. During this time he scored 160 runs at a very poor average of 12.30 and his best score was 42 runs. Buchanan also got to play a List-A match, in which he scored 64 runs. Then he played club cricket in England and also started his coaching career there.
Later, John Buchanan coached the team for which he played first class cricket. Under Buchanan's coaching, Queensland won the Sheffield Shield for the first time in 1994-95. Then in October 1999, Buchanan was made the head coach of the Australian team in place of Geoff Marsh. Before becoming the coach of the Kangaroo team, Buchanan also coached the English county team Middlesex in 1998, where he was the target of critics. Then he was accused of making a simple game more complicated. Under his coaching, the Middlesex team finished 17th in the County Championship that season.
Questions were raised on appointing John Buchanan as the coach of the Australian team. It was said that he had no experience of international cricket. Although it was never going to be easy for Buchanan to follow in the footsteps of Bob Simpson and Geoff Marsh, he soon made a name for himself in the cricket world on the basis of his unique coaching style. John Buchanan did his work with a completely new approach. He also had the approval of his captain Steve Waugh in this. Later, he also got along well with Ricky Ponting.
John Buchanan used to give lectures in the dressing room and recite poems to boost the confidence of the players. However, not everyone agreed with Buchanan's coaching style. Especially Shane Warne, who was annoyed by Buchanan's opinion on his weight and cricketing ability. Warne believed that Buchanan reinvented everything and complicated every aspect of the game.
John Buchanan was the coach of the Australian team till the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Under Buchanan's coaching, Australia achieved many other achievements besides winning two World Cups and three Ashes series. Under Buchanan's coaching and Steve Waugh's captaincy, Australia won 16 consecutive Test matches, which is a record. This winning streak was stopped by the Indian team led by Sourav Ganguly in 2001. Keep in mind that during 2007-08, the Australian team had also won 16 consecutive Test matches under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting. At that time too, Australia's winning streak was stopped by India.
