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New Zealand and England have dismissed a scornful appraisal of their abilities from John Buchanan, insisting they couldn't care less what the eccentric Aussie coach has to say.
The man who is known for recommending to his players the teachings of Chinese warlord Sun Tzu, and for encouraging his players to give speeches on subjects ranging from Hulk Hogan to the Bee Gees, has suggested Australia's World Cup preparations are being adversely affected by the poor standard of their tri-series opposition.
"Our ability to deliver yorkers, length balls, bouncers, variety balls [such as slower balls, cutters, etc] has not been placed under constant scrutiny by an opposition batting lineup," Buchanan said in a report on Cricket Australia's website.
"This testing of our bowlers' response to situations when we have lost control [temporarily, hopefully] is not happening.
"In essence, the batting efforts of our opposition are not assisting the development of our bowlers' one-day skills, and the decision-making that accompanies being placed under the microscope of competition.
"And while this is not occurring, we cannot have our fielding tested also for its ability to create and make opportunities."
However Buchanan, who once went as far as advocating the deliciously nutty "closed-eye technique" - in which his players were urged to bat and catch with their eyes shut - hasn't been able to raise a murmur of protest in either camp.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden, in Perth to monitor the blood pressure of his coach John Bracewell, said the comments might prove a source of motivation for his players - although he doubted it.
"I've read the article and it's not my position to get stuck into that sort of stuff," he said.
"He's entitled to his views and we're entitled to focus on what we're trying to achieve without getting too distracted."
Even English batsman Paul Collingwood, whose side takes on the world champions today at Adelaide, refused to raise an eyebrow over Buchanan's comments, preferring to play a characteristic straight bat.
"We're probably not [challenging the Australian bowlers] at the moment but hopefully we can turn that around and stretch them if that's what he wants to see," Collingwood said yesterday.
"We obviously concentrate on our own game."
