Sport - Cricket

Buchanan sees systemic failure behind Aussie decline

Melbourne: Former coach John Buchanan refused to buy into the simplistic argument that Australia’s ongoing woes could be attributed to the fact that it was a team in transition and said the tumble from the perch was due to systemic failure.

Buchanan said serious problems had been ignored by the authorities in the country and the series losses to India and South Africa had delivered a “fantastic opportunity” for a complete overhaul of the system that was long overdue.

The man who twice took Australia to record Test match-winning streaks said it was simplistic to blame the debacle on the retirements of the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn.

“There are broader issues there. They’ve been overlooked for a long period of time and now we’re starting to see the outcomes of those. It’s systemic and that’s been the case for some period of time but while things were going well people chose to ignore them,” Buchanan told The Daily Telegraph.

After the 2-0 defeat in India, Australia lost its first home series in 16 years when South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series.

Buchanan said he had tried to have several issues addressed while he was in charge from 1999 to 2007, such as development, coaching and talent identification.

He, however, sees an opportunity in the side to go for an overhaul.

“I think the real upside here, the real upside for everybody, is that it’s a fantastic opportunity for administrators, coaches, players to actually stop and look at what’s actually happening, and not just the immediacy of the results,” he said. — PTI

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