Sydney, Oct 18: John Buchanan has signed a new two-year contract as coach of the Australian cricket team, Cricket Australia announced today. Buchanan, 50, took over the role in October 1999, taking over from Geoff Marsh. He is now contracted till October 2005.
Since taking charge, Buchanan has helped Australia set several international cricketing benchmarks.
He was in charge for 15 of the team's 16 straight Test victories, a world record, and supervised as Australia recorded 21 straight victories in limited-overs games in 2002-2003, including the World Cup triumph in South Africa. "We are very pleased to have been able to extend John's contract," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement.
"Since his appointment John has played a major role in Australia's international success. The Australian Test and one-day sides are now regarded as the best in the world and one of the reasons for that is because we have a world-class support team," Sutherland said.
Buchanan said he had not hesitated in signing a new deal. "The last four years have been a wonderful experience for me and I'm extremely grateful to have the chance to be associated with the Australian team for another two years," he said.
Before taking over as Australian coach, Buchanan played for the Queensland state side as an opening batsman and spent five seasons with the Queensland side as coach, helping to pilot the Bulls to two domestic first-class titles - including the first in the state's history. Bureau Report