He’s back ... but not for the Cats
LIAM Buchanan has announced he is returning to cricket.
But before opponents get too excited, the hard-hitting batsman won’t be making a comeback for Geelong.
Instead, the 36-year-old will don the whites in his hometown of Colac later this month.
Buchanan confirmed to Third Man he will play for Irrewarra in the Colac and District Cricket Association clash against City United on October 25- 26.
It will allow the former Victorian Bushranger to qualify for the Hawks’ T20 Big Bash season-opener on October 31.
Buchanan has been headhunted by Irrewarra as it chases the lucrative prizemoney to help fund the construction of its brand new headquarters.
“I’ll play a game or two for Irrewarra, but that will be it,” Buchanan said.
“They play a game during the week and that will qualify me for the T20s and then that will be it, I think.”
Asked if he would return for Geelong in Premier cricket, Buchanan replied, “nah, that’s it”.
“I retired three years ago but I kept playing. It was always my plan to not play this year, but I wanted to see how we recruited, to be honest.
“We wanted a bit more experience, and when we got Ludey and Cobby (Tim Ludeman and Josh Cobb) on board, we probably thought that I didn’t need to play.
“Our list is developing, so it’s nice to have a bit of experience and I didn’t want to take the spot of a young guy.
“We thought we’d be competitive without myself, and Josh Cobb is a hard-hitting batter and bowls off spin, so that’s a like-for-like replacement.”
Cobb will arrive on Tuesday and will line up for the Cats in Round 4.
Buchanan revealed that Cobb’s arrival was delayed due to commitments with his county side Northhamptonshire.
“He had some personal commitments that he had to fulfil this weekend then he’ll be over and play for the rest of the year,” he said.
“I don’t know if he’ll play finals, but he’ll be definitely here for the home and away season and then the weather will determine if he comes home earlier or not. If the weather’s poor, he’ll play finals for us because he’ll get a decent pre-season playing on our wickets.”
Geelong’s batting coach, Buchanan has taken on greater responsibility at Kardinia Park this season.
He is also part of the club’s executive and heads cricket operations alongside Jason Doherty.
“In the past there’s been a disconnect between the players and the committee, more because of the generational gap, and my role is to be the conduit between,” Buchanan said.
“I’m trying to get everyone on the same page and I think it’s going well.”