5 successful coaches who didn't play a single international match 

It is said very often that great students do not necessarily become great teachers. The same applies to the game of cricket. Not all great players who conquered world cricket with their cricketing skills have managed to become successful coaches. The likes of Kapil Dev, Greg Chappell have had rather disappointing stints as coaches. There are no doubts about the aptitude of these players but somehow they weren't able to inculcate their knowledge and expertise into the players.

On the other hand, there are some cricketers, who were mediocre in their playing days but turned out to be excellent coaches. These players excelled as coaches through strong man-management and coaching skills. There have been players who haven't featured in a single international match but have turned ordinary cricketers to world-beaters. Here are 5 such successful coaches who didn't play a single International match in their career.

#5 Graham Ford

Graham Ford

Graham Ford has formerly coached Sri Lanka and is the current coach of Ireland. Before turning towards coaching, Graham Ford played for Natal B in South Africa. However, his first-class career lasted just 7 games as he played his last first-class game at the age of 29. Ford averaged as low as 13.50 in these 7 games. Ford started his coaching career at the young age of 31 as he coached Natal province. The South African was later appointed assistant to Bob Woolmer during the time when the South African team reached the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup. He later replaced Woolmer as the head coach of the South African side.

In 2007 Ford was offered the job of the Indian coach but he refused to take up the role citing family reasons. He became Sri Lanka's coach twice, first in 2012 and second in 2016. In 2017, Ford was appointed as the head coach of Ireland.

#4 Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur is one of the most passionate coaches in the cricket world. Arthur is often seen expressing his jubilations and disappointments in the team's dressing room. Arthur has coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan and is known to be a hard taskmaster. Arthur himself has a lot of first-class experience under his belt. The South African played 110 first-class games and 150 List A games in the Rainbow Nation. He averaged 33.45 in first-class matches and 26.76 in List A games. Unfortunately, he failed to make it to the national side and took up coaching after retiring from domestic cricket in 2001.

Four years later he was named as the coach of the South African cricket team. In 2010 Arthur resigned from the post due to differences with the board. After an unsuccessful and controversial time as the coach of Australia, Arthur was appointed head coach of Pakistan. Under his regime, Pakistan won ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

#3 John Buchanan

John Buchanan with Glenn McGrath

To the surprise of many, the man who coached Australia during the team's prime never played a single international match as a player. Forget playing an international game, John Buchanan was a below-average first-class cricketer. In 7 first-class games Buchanan played for Queensland, he scored just 160 runs at a poor average of 12.30. However, he more than made up for his poor statistics as a player with an immaculate record as a coach.

The Australians looked unbeatable at the time when Buchanan coached the side. Buchanan's illustrious career came to an end after the victorious World Cup campaign in 2007. And even though former players like Ian Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar and legendary spinner Shane Warne questioned John Buchanan's role in the Australian side time and again, Buchanan's contribution in the rise of Australian cricket cannot be undermined. The Queenslander later became the coach of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. Buchanan was also the New Zealand's director of cricket from 2011 to 2013.

#2 Mike Hesson

Mike Hesson

Before turning into a professional coach, New Zealand's Mike Hesson had literally no first-class experience. After a stint with the Kenyan team, Hesson was given charge of the New Zealand side. Hesson backed Brendon McCullum to be New Zealand's skipper which created a rift between him and the then-captain Ross Taylor.

However, the move paid off as New Zealand started winning matches under Brendon McCullum with their new-found way of playing an aggressive brand of cricket. New Zealand did exceedingly well in the 2015 World Cup too where they made it to their maiden World Cup finals. Post the World Cup, Hesson continued as the coach before resigning in 2018, just a year ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Hesson is New Zealand's longest serving coach. The 44-year-old coached Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019 and was also in the running for the post of head coach of the Indian national side.

#1 Trevor Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss is the only coach in cricket to have won the IPL and World Cup as a coach. Bayliss played for more than a decade for New South Wales. In 58 first-class matches, Bayliss averaged 35.58, while in 50 list A games he averaged 29.90.

Speaking about his coaching career, Bayliss first coached an international cricket team way back in 2007 when he succeeded Tom Moody as Sri Lanka's head coach. After coaching the team for four years, Bayliss turned his focus on coaching franchise T20 sides like Sydney Sixers and Kolkata Knight Riders. While Sydney Sixers won the Big Bash league in 2011-12, KKR won IPL in 2012 and 2014. In 2015, Bayliss took the high-profile job of England's coach. The Australian turned England's fortunes around, especially in ODIs. England won their maiden World title in ODIs under him. Bayliss will step down as England's coach after Ashes 2019.