He began his cricket career playing for the University Club in Brisbane. He then went on to represent Queensland in seven Sheffield Shield matches between 1978-1979, scoring 160 runs in 13 visits to the crease, with a top score of 41 against NSW.
John became the Australian Cricket Team coach in 1999 and over the next eight years led the team to a world record of 16 straight Test Match victories, an unprecedented 22 undefeated World Cups matches including two final wins, and 14 consecutive One-Day International victories. During this time the Australian Cricket Team were the World Cup Champions, Test Cricket World Champions and holders of The Ashes.
These victories make John the most successful coach in cricket history with a winning record of 76.9% in Test Matches and 74.07% in One Day Internationals. John’s winning record is higher than the three most famous coaches in sports history – Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls Basketball coach during the Michael Jordan era) – winning ration = 72.5%, Vince Lombardi (NFL’s former Green Bay Packers coach) - winning ratio = 71.9%, Alex Ferguson (Manchester United Manager) – winning ration = 57%.
Recently retired, as Australian Coach John will now concentrate on his business ‘Buchanan Success Coaching’. He specialises in business-coaching seminars, ‘one-off’ company talks, after dinner guest speaking, or can tailor presentations to specific company needs. The basis of these talks is that sport and business operate from similar principles and both industry sectors can learn from each other.
BRIEF HISTORY:
1973-1981 University ‘A’ Grade - 1975 & 1978 Brisbane ‘A’ Grade Cricketer of the Year
1978-1979 Queensland Sheffield Shield Team
1981 – 1982 Sport Coordinator – XII Commonwealth Games
1983 – 1984 National Director – Australian Volleyball
1994-1999 Queensland Bulls Cricket Team Coach:- First Sheffield Shield win (1995), Second Sheffield Shield win (1997), Mercantile Mutual Cups (1996 & 1998)
1995 Australian National League Coach of the Year
1999 - 2007 - Australian Cricket Team Coach
