Winners are supposed to be magnanimous, not wise after the event, but then John Buchanan has never been the conventional sort. Take his latest snippet of post-Ashes wisdom: "It was Gough v Caddick, rather than Gough and Caddick v Australia," he explained, twisting the knife in England's corpse with unnecessary relish. Steady on, John, don't you know it's rude to speak ill of the dead? Buchanan shares a weakness for kidology with his captain Steve Waugh, and it could well be that he is making the earliest recorded psychological strike in cricket history - Australia next play England in November 2002. But whatever his motives, Buchanan has missed the point, and on more than one count.

For a start, the Gough-Caddick-rivalry story is not just yesterday's news: it's yesteryear's. When Caddick first started challenging Gough's new-ball supremacy, during the 1997 Ashes (Caddick took 24 wickets at 26, Gough 16 at 32), there were whispers that our Dazzler didn't like it. But things moved on from there. By 2000 they were destroying Zimbabwe and West Indies in glorious harness, and by 2001 Gough was so confident he even referred to himself in the third person: "Me without Andy Caddick wouldn't be the same; him without Darren Gough wouldn't be the same. As a partnership we just click." The stats backed him up. Before the Ashes, Caddick and Gough had played 21 Tests together, taking 164 wickets at 24.66, a lower average and better strike-rate than two of England's greatest new-ball pairings: Ian Botham and Bob Willis (172 wickets in 24 Tests together at 30), and Fred Trueman and Brian Statham (284 in 35 at 25).

At first glance this summer's stats lend some credence to Buchanan's claim. Gough took 17 wickets at 38.64, Caddick an even more insipid 15 at 49.86. But it's a kangaroo-like leap of logic to put this down to personal rivalry. With apologies to the conspiracy theorists, isn't it more likely that Australia's batsmen were just too good? Or that England's fielders dropped too many catches? Or even that Gough was distracted by his benefit year? Or that Caddick responded badly to being targeted by the Aussies? But Gough v Caddick? Not in the team that Duncan built.

Buchanan's comments raise another question. Is inter-team rivalry really so strange? And is it actually undesirable? Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, who are not exactly bosom buddies, have taken over 700 Test wickets between them, the vast majority while playing together. The desire to outdo a team-mate can work to a side's advantage - particularly where two bowlers are concerned, because, unlike batsmen, they can't run each other out. Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart have always competed over who has more Test centuries (16-14 to Atherton). On a smaller scale, the sight of Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden this summer racing each other to cut off a boundary to third man said it all: sportsmen are competitive creatures.

And the world is round. And Australia always win the Ashes. Big deal.

Buchanan is clearly a clever coach. But attempts to create disharmony in the opposition - after the series - are just too clever by half. In fact, they're beneath him. Sun Tzu must be turning in his grave.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden Online. His English Angle appears every week on Wisden.com.

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