Buchanan agrees to new two-year deal
Australian coach John Buchanan has agreed a new two-year contract that will take him through until Spring 2003, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced today.
The new agreement ensures that Buchanan, who took over the post in late October 1999 in succession to Geoff Marsh, will be at the helm when Australia seeks a second successive World Cup title in South Africa in the summer of 2002-03.
It also means he will supervise the forthcoming tours to South Africa, Zimbabwe Pakistan, the West Indies, the Ashes series against England in 2002-03, this summer's Orange Test series against New Zealand and South Africa, and the VB Series for the next two seasons.
ACB Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said: "We are delighted we have been able to agree terms with John.
"Together with captain Stephen Waugh and all the players, he has helped to bring a new level of success to Australian cricket at international level.
"The side is now regarded as the best in the world and one of the reasons for that is because we have a world-class team both on and off the field."
After taking charge for the first Test of the home season of 1999-2000, Buchanan has helped Australia set world records in Test and one-day international cricket.
In Test cricket, he supervised 15 of the 16 successive victories achieved by the side, a new world mark beating the 11 straight wins of Clive Lloyd's great West Indies team of 1984.
And in the one-day game, Australia went for a record 14 matches without defeat in 1999-2000, another world record.
The team's successes have seen it claim clean sweeps in Test series at home to Pakistan and India and in New Zealand in 1999-2000, followed by another whitewash win in the five-match series against the West Indies last summer and, after a narrow loss to India, a 4-1 Ashes triumph in England.
In one-day international cricket, Australia won the Carlton & United Series against Pakistan and India in 1999-2000 and repeated that success against the West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Carlton Series last summer, a season that saw the side win every match in both forms of the game for the first time in a domestic season.
Away from home, the limited-overs line-up has enjoyed series wins in New Zealand, India and in the NatWest Series against England and Pakistan last winter, with the only blot on the landscape a failure to win the ICC Knock-out in Kenya in October 2000.
John Buchanan said: "The last two years have been a fantastic 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 two years, we have also got tangible targets to aim for.
"We will be going out in a positive way to secure a second successive World Cup title in South Africa in early 2003, there is the chance to lift the ICC Knock-out trophy, something we have so far failed to do, and there is also the task of remaining the number one side in the ICC's Test World Championship table.
"And on top of those short- to medium-term goals there is also the task of maintaining our success over a longer period of time by continuing to develop our processes and our relationships with the states and the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy.
"These are real challenges for us all but hopefully they will be enjoyable challenges too, and it will be great to be a part of it all."
Australian captain Stephen Waugh said: "This is great news for Australian cricket.
"One of the main reasons we have had such a high level of success over the past two years has been Buck's efforts behind the scenes.
"He has the excellent cricketing knowledge you would expect of someone at international level, but he has also encouraged us to look at things differently and challenge the way we have played the game in the past.
"It is that sort of approach that will allow us to keep taking the game forward and I am really pleased to be continuing my partnership with John."
Before taking up the role of Australia's coach, Buchanan enjoyed five successful years with the Queensland Bulls helping to pilot it to two Sheffield Shield titles, the first in the state's history, and two Mercantile Mutual Cup wins.
© 2001 Australian Cricket Board
| Teams | Australia. |
| Players/Umpires | John Buchanan, Geoff Marsh, James Sutherland, Steve Waugh, Clive Lloyd. |
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