Former Australia coach John Buchanan has rubbished media reports that he is all set to help England in their bid to wrest next month's Ashes from Ricky Ponting's men.
Reports in British media on Sunday claimed that Buchanan, who guided Australia to a thumping 5-0 win over England in 2006-07, was invited by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for a meeting last week where the two parties mainly discussed about the Ashes planning.
Although Buchanan did not deny meeting the ECB officials, he said the upcoming Ashes series was not on the agenda of their discussion.
"I did meet with them but we did not discuss their Ashes strategy. We mainly talked about the Twenty20 game and the development of their Centre of Excellence. It was basically a continuation of the work I had done (earlier this year) when I spoke to the English Lions team in New Zealand," he said.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the former Australia coach, who guided Ricky Ponting's men to a thumping 5-0 win over England in 2006-07, was invited by the cricket board in London for a meeting last week with the discussion mainly confined to Ashes planning.
"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.
Incidentally, Buchanan's assistance was sought by a recruitment company before Andy Flower was named the England team director.
"It is thought Buchanan will speak again to England officials before the Ashes begins on July 8 in Cardiff," the report added.
