Michael Clarke eroded Australia's team culture says John Buchanan

Former Australian national coach John Buchanan says the team's famed "Baggy Green" culture deteriorated under captain Michael Clarke's watch.

Clarke announced his retirement from cricket at the end of the series after Australia's fourth Test Ashes defeat to England, and has since come in for criticism from a number of former teammates including Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

Buchanan weighed into the affair by praising the departing skipper's service, but said a young Clarke failed to buy into Australia's team culture.

Michael Clarke carries a jerry can of water as John Buchanan looks on during an outback bootcamp training session in 2006.

"Players like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and others really tried to make the 'Baggy Green' culture something special, but I could sense it was under threat and under Michael's captaincy I can sense it has disappeared a bit and that disappointed me," he told News Corp.

"I can remember guys like Hayden and (Justin) Langer sitting him down in a corner and trying to get him to understand what we were trying to achieve.

"There were times when I felt Michael did not understand or did not want to understand."

"There were times when I felt Michael [Clarke, pictured] did not understand or did not want to understand": John Buchanan.

"There were times when I felt Michael [Clarke, pictured] did not understand or did not want to understand": John Buchanan. Photo: Getty Images

Buchanan's comments follow Hayden's claim that Clarke "ruffled feathers" and Symonds' view that he was not a "natural leader" in the mould of former Test captains.

AAP