Australian coach John Buchanan has hit the books in the lead-up to the Ashes series starting in November, with his counterpart Duncan Fletcher's 'Ashes Diary' at the top of his bedtime reading list..jpg)
Buchanan, who many believed was out-pointed tactically by Zimbabwe-born Fletcher in England's 2-1 series triumph last year, has made it clear he aims to use the book in his preparations.
"I've made the book mandatory reading for our coaches to get an insight into what happened last year," Buchanan told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I think it provides a very interesting insight into Fletcher as a coach."
"He discusses his own philosophies and also gives his thoughts on the current players and the way they play the game in England."
Fletcher came into prominence last year with the Australians questioning if fast bowlers leaving the field prior to spells was for legitimate reasons and whether England was taking advantage of specialist substitute fielders.
On the latter issue, Ricky Ponting's angry gesturing towards Fletcher during the fourth Test at Trent Bridge after being run out by substitute Gary Pratt, created an indelible image of the series.
"I think that all of us, and I'm included in that, got too caught up in the emotion of playing an Ashes series," Buchanan said.
"Those were observable throughout the Ashes by our opponents and they used that to good effect."
"There are important lessons there (in the book). It's reflective reading in that sense, but we can use that to build on this series."
