Buchanan calls for review of Ashes defeat by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	RT Ponting
Event:	Australia in British Isles 2009

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DateLine: 30th August 2009

 

Former Aussie coach John Buchanan has called for a review of his successor Tim Nielsen's position after the Ashes defeat.

 

Buchanan said that Cricket Australia needs to find solutions to the issues rather than looking for scapegoats.

 

Buchanan, was of the view that the coach needed to share the burden of pressure on embattled skipper Ricky Ponting.

 

"The coaching position needs to be looked at, whether we need a restructure of the position and the personnel. The first step is to deal with all the emotional criticism and then sit down and work out the best way forward," Buchanan was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.

 

"My view, having gone through it in 2005, was that there was a lot to be achieved, once you actually try to find solutions rather than looking for scapegoats. It's not just about the players. Some people have called for the selection panel to be looked at and I think we need to look at the whole system.

 

"We've lost two series in a row there now and even though we've got computer information on the opposition, we're probably not scouting as well as we could," he said.

 

"It could be that we have a coach or somebody who follows the English team for a couple of months prior to an Ashes series. It could be that we talk to professional players or coaches who are already over there, about conditions and what the ball is doing. But we need to find long-term solutions," Buchanan added.

 

The former coach also supported Ponting's ambition of winning the Ashes campaign on English soil in 2013, but said he needs the backing of his team to realise the goal.

 

"Ricky Ponting has said he wants to be there when they go back in 2013 and I support that, but I think the point it raises is the issue of player management," the sacked Kolkata Knight Riders coach said.

 

"The captain doesn't have to be the first person to answer questions, but it would be a radical change to the traditional cricket hierarchy. Everything revolves around the captain and that makes the position extremely, extremely difficult to handle over a long period of time," Buchanan said.