Buchanan led Ponting and his boys to a whopping 5-0 win in the Ashes just a couple of years back. And this year he was almost off to England to help England do that to the Aussies. Only last week he was invited to London to discuss the matters relating to Ashes planning with the ECB bosses.

"It is understood Buchanan was invited by the England and Wales Cricket Board after recently losing his advisory contract with Cricket Australia and having worked briefly with the England Lions squad in New Zealand last winter," the report said.

First he had preliminary discussions with Hugh Morris, the ECB's managing director, regarding a consultancy position and next held talks with the entire England management team.

As goes another cricket news, a recruitment company sought Buchanan’s expert advice just prior’s to England’s search for its new cricket team director. Eventually Andy Flower emerged as the obvious choice. "It is thought Buchanan will speak again to England officials before the Ashes begin on July 8 in Cardiff," was all that the report mentioned.

However, after IPL and the dismal performance of his team in the tournament and after going through the wrath of Kolkata people, Buchanan is clearly in no mood for more and so he thought it better to turn down England offer. As the latest report goes, Buchanan is undecided on his Ashes role. But he is open to any consultancy role. "Certainly, yes, I am very interested in taking on some sort of consultancy role if that's what the ECB are to pursue. I'm keen to talk to them about that and how I might possibly assist their cricket in whatever way that might be," this was what, Buchanan told Cricinfo in April.

If ECB can convince Buchanan to hold the position, it will be a real gain for the team that is not in a good shape in the recent times. For England team, Buchanan will be a great value addition for the team. A man leading the team for seven consecutive seasons can offer more insight about the opponents than any other.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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