John Buchanan is the most successful coach in the Australian cricket history. He became the Australian team coach in 1999 – a team that had enjoyed success, but was in the process of handing over to a new captain, and new players. By 2007, he finished a very successful campaign as coach of Australia.
Buchanan coached the team to a world record number of straight Test Matches (16 wins), consecutive One Day International victories (21) and set an unprecedented World Cup record with 2 World Cups and 24 games undefeated. At the time of his retirement, the Australian Cricket Team were the World Cup Champions, Test Cricket Champions and One Day Champions, and also returned the Ashes to Australia in early 2007. This record of victories makes Buchanan the most successful coach in history with a winning record of over 75% since 1999.
His philosophies, principles and methodologies have not been restricted to formal educational and training sessions, Buchanan has also released, “If Better is Possible”, which continues to be popular across many audiences from corporate leaders to sport coaches and athletes. His most recently published book, “The Future of Cricket” deals with the 20 over phenomenon and where the game may be heading.
Buchanan does not have the same pedigree as other cricket coaches, or indeed most other world-renowned sport coaches. He has an extremely modest playing background, which did not see him reach the heights of those athletes whom he coached. Buchanan has a degree in Human Movement, a teaching Diploma and a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Alberta University in Canada.
The University of Queensland has granted him an honorary doctorate for his services to sport. This education has influenced Buchanan’s coaching approach, which is vastly different to those used by cricket coaches for generations. While he was the first coach to use computer analysis of every ball bowled, he retained a unique approach to coach the ‘whole person’ rather than just the athlete. Buchanan has a great knowledge of coaching and how good coaching helps to create High Performance Teams. He has recently gained a G.A.I.C.D certificate as a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.