Shane’s silly statement

Shane Warne’s statement about the role of John Buchanan, has once again got him into another controversy. Buchanan’s lateral thinking and his belief in holistic improvement may seem unorthodox but who can argue with the results. To say that the Australian team can win without him would be an insult to someone who has kept them at the pinnacle of cricket.

Does Warney feel that he could have become the leading test bowler without the help of Terry Jenner.? Even in an individual sport, there are the people behind the scenes who play an important role in the sportsperson’s success. Where would Schumi be without Ross Brawn & Jean Todt, Tyson without Cus D’Amato, Bjorn Borg without Lennart Bergelin, Pete Sampras without Pete Fischer, Ivan Lendl without Tony Roche, Andre Agassi without Brad Gilbert etc. Ponting’s agressive response in support of Buchanan and Shane subsequently claiming he has been misquoted seem to suggest that Shane has realised his folly. Other Aussie cricketers had this to say :

Warne’s former Victorian and Australian team-mate Damien Fleming said Warne valued coaches, and noted that Terry Jenner has been Warne’s mentor for two decades. “Warney has been saying what he thinks about coaches but he’s got a very important mentor in Terry Jenner,” Fleming told The Australian newspaper. “Coaches and mentors are very important, don’t worry about that, whether it is for a team or individual.”

Adam Gilchrist, who is resting from the limited-overs tournament in Malaysia, had no doubt that Buchanan has made an enormous impact on the team during his seven-year reign. “Some of his methods did confuse some players and I’m sure there are players over time who haven’t taken well to the way he works and that’s fine – we’re all different people,” he told the newspaper. “I understand that some people might be uncertain about his philosophies but my overriding perception is that as a cricket coach and man manager his overall goal is to better his players as people. With that will come being better cricketers.”

Justin Langer, the Australian opening batsman, said Buchanan had laid the ground work for Australia’s remarkable success as a Test and one-day team. “His greatest strength is his vision and his courage to plant the seed of achievement in a very talented side,” Langer said. “It’s easy to go through the motions but one thing that inspires very good players and successful people is to keep trying to extend them all the time.”