Warne criticises Buchanan

With the Ashes series looming, Australia it seems will have to not only face a tough opponent but will also have to deal with possible internal conflicts after Shane Warne publicly criticised coach John Buchanan’s approach in British tabloid The Sun yesterday.

Although Buchanan has been coach during one of the country’s most successful periods in history, Warne suggested that perhaps it was “the team who makes the coach” and even went as far as to say that as far as he was concerned the only important coach in cricket is the one in which the team travels.

He also suggested that Buchanan “over-complicates issues” and has at times “lacked common sense”.

With just two months to go before arguably the most important test series in the careers of both individuals, Warne’s open criticism of the coach is a very surprising move and one that you have to wonder what the reasons might be. Perhaps you could even question whether the blow to the head Warne received batting for Hampshire earlier in the week played a part, as there seems to be very little sense in such comments ahead of such a major series.

Captain Ricky Ponting is reportedly surprised and not overly impressed by the comments, and says that both he and Buchanan have let messages on Warne’s phone and mean to “have a chat with him and work out if he actually did say some of the things that were mentioned in the article.”

The Ashes series will be the last time Warne and Buchanan work alongside each other, with Buchanan standing down at the end of the series and putting an end to what has been a tumultuous working relationship between the two in which both have acknowledged that they “don’t always see eye-to-eye.”