Former coach says coaching and selection could be questioned, but it's too early to judge
Former Australia coach John Buchanan at a city hotel in Mumbai yesterday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Former Australia coach John Buchanan at a city hotel in Mumbai yesterday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
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After two horrendous series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, Australia looked a completely different unit at home yesterday. They were playing at one of their happy hunting grounds, the WACA in Perth. But to bowl out a formidable unit like South Africa for 242 in just 63.4 overs on Day One of the first Test, they had to be at their best.
Former Australia coach John Buchanan (63) seemed very happy with the first day's performance, albeit certain reservations, as he can see some faults creeping in the team with the coaching and selection policies. It was during Buchanan's days that Australia reached its zenith, both in Tests and ODIs. Despite the recent debacles he thinks that the team is "still a very skilled outfit".
"The individual skills of each of them are still very good. Obviously they haven't got the desired result in the last six months — Sri Lanka and South Africa were bad. But that can be because of who is selected, who is the captain, who is the coach, they all play a big role," Buchanan said during a tete-a-tete with mid-day at a city hotel yesterday evening.
"It is about leadership in various forms, selectors, coaches, captains, they all play a big role. Leadership needs to stand up and show direction when a team is under-performing.
Few changes in coaching, selection policies, playing group, culture... I think all these factors are impacting the performance in the team. But I would like to give them some more time before making an assessment," said Buchanan and added that he would like to think this phase as a "snap shot" and not the "whole movie".
"Let's play out the movie in the next 12-18 months or so and see how the team is performing. We can get carried away when the team is winning, but let us take into account a range of oppositions, formats, duration and then make an assessment. It is probably a bit too early, it is still a new group and Steven Smith is still learning," he said.
Is that the case or is there something else cooking in the team like former skipper Michael Clarke pointed out in his autobiography in which he said some players were "like a tumor"?
"It is difficult to tell what is cooking if someone is not always sitting with the group because all we can do is make observations. "There is a saying, 'never judge a book by its cover'. So it is always difficult to assess those individuals," said the coach, but was quick to add that it was something that should have been solved amicably.
"My point is no matter whether a team is winning or losing. it is like a family, and in families everybody may not get along all the time and that's pretty normal. "But it is up to the individuals, the captain, coaches to work on those issues and try and solve that so that you can put forward a harmonious unit," Buchanan remarked.
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