Sydney: Australia coach John Buchanan admitted on Thursday that Shane Warne’s retirement would leave a huge void in his side, but insisted plans were in place to cope with a changing of the guard.

Veteran paceman Glenn McGrath is tipped to be the next Australian to call it a day, and Buchanan said it was only a matter of time before Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist retired.

Batsman Damien Martyn has already departed, shocking his teammates when he walked away from the game on the eve of the third Ashes Test.

Buchanan said Australia had the infrastructure in place to handle the strain of a mass exodus, unlike the 1980s when Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh’s departure crippled the national side.

“One of the significant differences that has occurred is that there are things like the Centre of Excellence programme, Australia A, and we have seen the emergence of young talent,” he said.

“The transition from moving the older, great players out (for) newer, younger players should be a bit easier than in the past.

“(Retirements) will occur, whether that be within two, three, six or 12 months, but it heralds an exciting time in Australian cricket.”