Buchanan sees World Cup rebirth for Ponting

BIRMINGHAM, England, (Reuters) – John Buchanan, who  coached Australia to the last two of their three successive  World Cup wins, has backed Ricky Ponting to lead them back into  the final again in 2011 despite their recent Ashes humiliation.
Buchanan, a giant of Australian cricket, believes  beleaguered skipper Ponting, however, needs fewer duties to  worry about before he can take his team back to the one-day  game’s summit.
England sealed a 3-1 series win this month with each   victory by an innings as the Australians slipped to fifth in  the test rankings after 15 years of world dominance, losing six  of their last eight tests and six of the last 12 one-day games.
Buchanan, though, pointed out they are still the world’s  top-ranked team in 50-over cricket and believes they will reach  a fifth straight final at the Feb 19-April 2 World Cup, to be  held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
“The Ashes is finished with,” Buchanan, 57, told Reuters in  a phone interview from his Brisbane home, which had been spared  any flooding that has ravaged much of Queensland.
“The World Cup is a one-off tournament and it really doesn’t  matter what happens in Australia or other lead-up games  elsewhere around the world.
“The conditions they will experience will be different; they  will be facing new teams every third day, so it’s now just about  what is required to win the World Cup.”
The quietly-spoken 6ft 4in coach nicknamed “Buck” succeeded  Geoff Marsh as Australia coach in 1999 and quit the post in 2007  after leading them to World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007, a world  record 16 straight test wins — twice — and a 5-0 Ashes  whitewash in 2006-07.
Cynics might suggest his exit was timely. Australia’s  current travails come during a transitional period as the team  continues to adjust to life without a raft of now retired  world-class players who came together in one golden era.
Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist  have all gone.

FORM DIP
One of those remaining, Ponting, who has played in the last  four World Cup finals — the last two as captain — has suffered  the backlash of the team’s form dip more than most.
Buchanan still supports Ponting as captain and recommends a  more selfish approach to help rediscover the kind of batting  form that saw him crack a scintillating unbeaten 140 from just  121 balls in the 2003 World Cup final against India.
“He’s the best man for the job as long as physically he  maintains his skills — there is no question of his batting  ability,” Buchanan said.
“He has been allowed to take on way too much in this  so-called rebuilding phase. His principal skills are in and  around the team, leading on the field and leading with the bat.
“Provided that is all he is asked to do — and I think a  World Cup will allow him to do that — that will give him a  clearer direction on what he has to do in the short term.”

FREQUENT CRITIC
Buchanan had forgettable spells with English county team  Middlesex and Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata, but was  highly successful with Queensland and then Australia.
His intent to be at the forefront of change, sometimes using  left-field theories, divided opinion.
He favoured psychology more than the baseball glove and  bowling machine. Warne was a frequent critic, while ex-Australia  captain Ian Chappell has rarely supported the role of a coach at  elite level.
Some observers undermined Buchanan’s achievements, claiming  anyone could have been successful with such a talented group to  work with.
“Buck”, though, pointed out Warne was not part of the 2003  or 2007 World Cup wins, while McGrath was not as influential at  the latter two World Cups as ’99.
“I never took this position with the idea I was going to  tell Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Ponting how to play cricket,”  Buchanan said.
“I could provide questions and an environment that would  challenge them but ultimately your principal role is to make  sure they are their own best coach and that they know their own  games inside out.”
Little has changed in his outlook on coaching in his current  role as a motivational speaker, which accounts for most of his  work nowadays.
While Ponting and Co. seek glory in the sub-continent,  Buchanan may also be in India; not coaching cricketers, but  inspiring those from the corporate world.
“I basically take the principles and lessons I learned from  cricket,” he said.
“If I visit an accountancy firm I will ask them where they  want to be. Do they want to be the best accounting firm in  Worcestershire, or the South East of England, or the UK or  Europe? Where are they going?”
Although Buchanan opts to support his three sons and two  daughters in their chosen fields in his spare time now, cricket  remains his passion. When asked to predict the World Cup  finalists, his patriotism is clear.
“I’m still an Australian through and through,” he added,  “Australia has played well over there in one-day tournaments and  they’re number one. So I will go for either an Australia-Sri  Lanka or Australia-India final.”