A We went to England with a lot of expectations and, quite simply, didn’t meet the expectations. We didn’t win, but it was a tight series... The result, though, came as a golden opportunity: It has made me, the players, the support staff and Cricket Australia look at where we are and where we desire to be... It also made us look at England, made us look at other countries...

The other day, Ricky Ponting said that while the individual preparations had been fine, team-wise it was a bit off. What’s your explanation?

Look, it’s not one particular issue... A range of issues came into play... We had injuries, accidents... And, we came up against an England team which was very well prepared... We should have looked at the little things which happen in and around our team... Perhaps, the team disciplines also ought to have been looked at...

Is there a lesson you’ve learnt from the Ashes?

That I’d lost touch with the players... It happened because I’d pushed myself into a different role, which was to give the players responsibility for their game... Also, giving the assistant coach (Jamie Siddons) more responsibility... In doing so, I’d removed myself from contact with the players... I learnt I had to re-establish relationships... That I had to change my role a bit.

Did you become insular?

I was pro-active, but perhaps didn’t necessarily appreciate what being pro-active meant in that situation... It’s not, of course, that I changed as a person... I’ve been particular about certain principles and, probably, some got adhered to very closely (in the Ashes). What needs to improve, I guess, is knowing the players better and they knowing me better as well. That got initiated when we joined up in Melbourne, before the Super Series.

Was it during the Ashes itself that you decided to delegate more responsibility?

No... In various degrees, I’d been doing it from the start of my tenure... A coach’s job is to make the players more knowledgeable about their game and to then take control of situations... If they do become knowledgeable, then they can also take care of their preparation instead of the coach doing everything. As coach, it’s my job to make the environment more challenging. I’m not saying my approach was wrong, but it wasn’t suited to those circumstances.

Were you outthought by Duncan Fletcher?

Not outthought, but outplayed... We understood what we had to do, but didn’t put that into practice... England were well-tuned and delivered better than us... I accept England forced us to play catch-up-cricket. The good thing is that we fought back in every game, but that wasn’t good enough.

It’s surprising that such established batsmen struggled against the reverse swing...

I would say the swinging ball and not reverse swing... The England bowlers swung the ball, old and new, and at good pace... You don’t come across very many bowlers who do that in today’s cricket. Outside England, I can’t think of anybody other than Chaminda Vaas.

Cricket Australia has just renewed your contract. Given that you’ve already put in six years, aren’t you knocking over the belief that coaches have a shelf life?

(Laughs) Coaches do have a shelf life and that’s something I thought of myself and discussed with Cricket Australia. In fact, I had to first convince myself that I wanted to continue and that I still had something to offer... I thought about it during the three ODIs in Melbourne and, then, decided to informally have a chat with Ricky, Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) and some of the other seniors... I wouldn’t have continued if the players didn’t want me... However, I’m getting closer to the use-by-date.

Besides the obvious, what did the seniors tell you?

That they believed I could make an impact...

The Ashes apart, the only other time you were under pressure was when Australia lost the 2000-01 Test series in India. How do you handle pressure?

It’s not easy... I mean, I finished the Ashes physically and emotionally drained... Looking back, I ought not to have retreated into myself the way I did. Yet, I can’t be certain that the result would have been different had I myself acted differently.

You’re on board till 2007. What needs to be done to take Australia to the next level?

Up-skilling has to take place... How do we do that? Well, we’re looking at improving our resources... We’re looking at improving the team culture, the team disciplines... The training sessions... We need all our players ready to play at all times.

Unusually, your most gifted bowler ? Shane Warne ? is also the most controversial. How do you handle him?

We’re together a lot, but the players are also individuals by themselves... Each individual has to make his own choice and live with the consequences of his actions? We’ve got to adhere to principles, but they may differ from person to person... We don’t want Shane to figure in controversies, but how he conducts himself is in his hands.

Thrashing the World XI in both forms must be highly pleasing?

Well, yes... There’s no sense of relief, though... The challenge for us is to continue with the good work and not be content with the wins.

Given that the World XI comprised many nationalities, didn’t Australia begin with an advantage?

The level of intensity and passion seen from a conglomerate is, obviously, something which will be studied... I don’t know whether a different form is going to bring the best out of the World XI players.

Any comments on the Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell row?

No... None at all... But, yes, I do wish to say that outsiders will always have something to talk about without being aware of the dynamics of a team...

What’s your take on Sourav the captain?

He led against us in two full series’ ? at home (2000-01) and in Australia (2003-04) and, both times, did an exceptional job. With the coach (John Wright) helping him, Sourav exploited a chink in our armour at home and, later, made life difficult for us in our own conditions... However, every position ? be it the captain’s or anybody else’s ? needs to be reviewed.

The last question: Have you stopped writing notes? None have surfaced in the wrong place for some time now...

(Laughs again) I’m careful about the doors I slip them under!