John Buchanan

Calcutta: Shane Warne may not think too highly of John Buchanan, but his is an absolutely lonely voice. Buchanan’s record as Australia’s coach (69 wins and 10 defeats in Tests; 160 wins and 46 defeats in ODIs), after all, will take a lot to beat.

Perhaps, it won’t be bettered. For the record, he remains the only coach with two World Cups (2003, 2007) under his belt.

Buchanan, who will be coaching the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, spoke to The Telegraph and listed his 5 most special Tests and ODIs during his tenure (October 1999-April 2007) as coach.

First, his 5 most special Tests (chronologically):

Australia vs Pakistan in Brisbane (November 1999): That was my first Test as coach and in front of my home crowd, at The Gabba… Will always remain very, very special… I’d wanted to play for Australia but that dream remained unfulfilled. Nevertheless, I made it to the dressing room as coach… That was also Adam Gilchrist’s debut Test… Off-hand, I can’t recall too much though, it’s a bit of a blur… What I can recall is that I had so many talented players at my disposal… The Waugh Brothers, Warne, Glenn McGrath…

Result: Australia, captained by Steve Waugh, won by 10 wickets.

Australia vs Pakistan in Hobart (November 1999): It was quite an amazing Test, with Pakistan scoring almost 400 in the second innings and Justin Langer and Gilchrist putting on 238 (for the sixth-wicket) to take Australia to victory… There’d been a time when Pakistan had the Test all wrapped up, but we won back control…

Result: Australia, captained by Waugh, won by 4 wickets.

Australia vs India in Calcutta (March 2001): Having taken a massive first innings lead, we’d been in a position to win the Test… That would’ve been our 17th on-the-trot… We continued to play the way we believed we should be playing, but ended up being outplayed by Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman (who added 376 for the fifth-wicket in the second innings)… We could still have saved that Test but, well, weren’t good enough. Full marks to India and it took us time to get over that defeat…

Result: India, captained by Sourav Ganguly, won by 171 runs.

Australia vs England in London, at The Oval (August 2001): That was the last Test of my first Ashes campaign and in England and we won… Again, will always remain very, very special for the reasons I’ve listed…

Result: Australia, captained by Waugh, won by an innings and 25 runs.

Australia vs England in Adelaide (December 2006): Another incredible Test and when the last day got under way, either team could’ve won… England looked to draw the Test, we chose to win it and we did…

Result: Australia, captained by Ricky Ponting, won by 6 wickets.

Now, his 5 most special ODIs (chronologically):

Australia vs India, the March 2003 World Cup final in Johannesburg: We came up with such a dominating performance, starting with the batting… India won the toss and put us in which, I think, was a fair decision by Sourav as there was something on offer in the wicket… Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden took the match away from India straightaway and, then, Ricky and Damien Martyn consolidated beautifully… At the start of the tournament, we’d expected India to make at least the semi-finals. They did one better…

Result: Australia, captained by Ponting, won by 125 runs.

Australia vs India in Calcutta, the TVS Cup final (November 2003): It remains very special because of the atmosphere at the Eden… There were around 90,000 fans and it was a big moment for those who hadn’t played there before… We’d done well throughout that tournament, but some had still seen us as the underdogs that night…

Result: Australia, captained by Ponting, won by 37 runs.

Australia vs New Zealand in Wellington (December 2005): We made 322 for five, with Andrew Symonds getting an awesome 156… New Zealand almost got there — all out for 320 with one ball remaining… I remember it was quite an emotional win…

Result: Australia, captained by Ponting, won by 2 runs.

Australia vs South Africa in Johannesburg (March 2006): I’d been very keen that we be the first team to score 400 in an ODI and that got achieved… In the midst of that euphoria, the South Africans, who didn’t have anything to lose, did even better! So, for us, there was jubilation and despair all in one match. Imagine, scoring 434 (for four) and still losing… Having become the first team to score over 400 actually became a distraction in the second half of that match. As for the buzz that night, it was unbelievable…

Result: South Africa, captained by Graeme Smith, won by 1 wicket.

Australia vs Sri Lanka, the April 2007 World Cup final in Bridgetown: It was the perfect finish to an incredible tournament, which we’d dominated right through… It was also my last match as coach… At the start of that season, we’d set ourselves a target of winning the Big Three — Champions Trophy (in India), the Ashes (at home) and the World Cup — and the hattrick was accomplished. It was, really, an incredible run over a period of six-seven months…

Result: Australia, captained by Ponting, won by 53 runs (D/L Method).

Finally, his most abiding memory as Australia’s coach

(After a pause, with a hint of emotion): I had an incredible journey… When I started off I’d asked my players to look at climbing Everest… Of course, then, I didn’t know where the journey would take me and the team… I’d also used the word invincible… I’d been keen on raising the bar and it’s my good fortune that I got to work with such wonderful and gifted players… A journey to cherish.