Justin Langer steps down as coach of Australia, effective immediately

[Sanzcool]

Justin Langer resigns as head coach of the Australian men’s team
Cricket Australia has accepted men’s team head coach Justin Langer’s resignation, which was received today.

Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept.

CA would like to thank Justin for his outstanding leadership since he became Australian men’s team coach in 2018 and for guiding the team to the T20 World Cup title last year and the 4-0 Ashes victory.

Justin is not only a legend of the game but an outstanding individual.

The contract extension offered to Justin was the result of a thorough review process that evaluated many factors including future requirements of the team and the upcoming extensive schedule of fixtures.

The extension was approved by the CA Board and was put to Justin last night. It included the opportunity to defend the T20 World Cup title in Australia at the end of this year.

Justin informed CA this morning he was not accepting the offer and would resign with immediate effect.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said: “Justin has been an outstanding coach of the Australian men’s team over the past four years.

“He has restored the trust in the team and his legacy is assured.

“We are extremely proud of his achievements since he took over in 2018, including the recent T20 World Cup victory and Ashes success.

“We are naturally disappointed Justin has decided against continuing as coach but respect his decision and wish him all the best in the future.

“I would like to sincerely thank Justin and also his family for all that they have given to Australian cricket over the past four years, for which we remain eternally grateful.”

Andrew McDonald has been appointed as interim head coach.

====

Justin Langer has resigned as coach of Australia's men's cricket team, effective immediately.

The news came via a statement from his management company this morning and follows a Cricket Australia board meeting yesterday.

Directors met throughout the day in Melbourne, where Langer's future was a priority after six months of speculation about his job.

Following the meeting, CEO Nick Hockley said no resolution had been reached other than to continue "confidential discussions" with the coach.

Eighteen hours later, Langer's resignation was confirmed.

More: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/jus...s-steps-down-board-dseg-management/2022-02-05

 

[Rana]

Great excuse to not have to go to Pakistan.

 

[Savak]

Dont think this has anything to do with Pakistan. He just was not liked by the team. Pat Cummins in many press conferences did not whole heartedly back him. Also 4 years is a long time for a coach in the job, the players at times want someone with a new set of eyes and ideas and approach.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Surprising. Seemed like he was generally well liked by the players, many of whom came to his defense publicly in the last few months. And above all, he got Australia up and running after Sandpapergate and it was under him that they retained the Ashes and won their first T20 World Cup.

Would be interested to see which Australian replaces him.

 

[Firebat]

Dont think this has anything to do with Pakistan. He just was not liked by the team. Pat Cummins in many press conferences did not whole heartedly back him. Also 4 years is a long time for a coach in the job, the players at times want someone with a new set of eyes and ideas and approach.

Yep, this was Cummins at the most recent press conference:

Cummins also admitted he could understand why people would feel Langer's extension should be a formality after Australia's success, but said it was important to evaluate his position.

"I think that is totally true," Cummins said on SEN.

"But it's also true that we have to run a process, and totally evaluate, and do what we're always trying to do, improve and optimise the environment.

"It's the right process, it's how you maintain being No.1 in the world."

Not exactly an overwhelming vote of confidence, could have been far stronger in his backing. Seems like there's truth to a lot of the reports of player unrest in recent times under his tenure.

 

[Mamoon]

India’s bunny. His legacy as a coach will be defined by losing two home series to India and for building a team that is proper scared of playing India.

 

[moghul]

Great excuse to not have to go to Pakistan.

You must be a PHD in conspiracy theories, to link this with Pakistan tour. If he did not want to travel to Pakistan , he wouldn't have to quite his job.

In western world people do retire honorably and at peak, unlike Pakistanis. As per cricinfo, Langer has some bad blood with some senior cricketers including Cummins . If you have watched "The test-A new Era for Australia team" on amzone prime , you will see what I'm talking about . He was a great coach but some players did not like his style.

But I think the real reason is IPL, he must be seeking a coaching job in IPL and other franchise, more money in shorter time .

 

[wrongun]

Dont think this has anything to do with Pakistan. He just was not liked by the team. Pat Cummins in many press conferences did not whole heartedly back him. Also 4 years is a long time for a coach in the job, the players at times want someone with a new set of eyes and ideas and approach.

Langer was hired as a disciplinarian to reshape the culture of the team after Steve Smiths weakness left a leadership void & team whose behaviour was out of touch and off the rails.

He succeeded at that quite well.

But his style is more football coach than cricket coach. He's intense, in your face & volatile. That works in Australian football where the season is only 6-7 months and you are at your own home living your normal life for the home game weeks. It's all a bit too much year after year in covid bubbles travelling non stop with the team for months on end.

So now they have a stronger leader the team (& Pat, who wholeheartedly refused to endorse Langer in a single public interview- it spoke volumes in silence) and an improved culture they'll go back to a more "traditional" cricket type coaching setup where the captain has a larger say and the coach is more a stable, supportive figure than an all consuming boss.

 

[wrongun]

Surprising. Seemed like he was generally well liked by the players, many of whom came to his defense publicly in the last few months. And above all, he got Australia up and running after Sandpapergate and it was under him that they retained the Ashes and won their first T20 World Cup.

Would be interested to see which Australian replaces him.

I only ever heard ex players (from his own playing era) support him. Never heard a peep from the current players saying they'd like him to stay on.

The nicest things Cummins ever said about him all used the past tense- the grammar all suggested it was something he'd appreciated in the past but absolutely did not endorse in the future.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

He was probably the worst Australian coach. Good batsmen but not a coach material. Inti is better than him.

 

[wrongun]

I don't think anything wrong with seeking an IPL job, that should come natural to him . After coaching one of the top team in the world for many years , he deserves to have another job which is more beneficial financially. If Kirsten , Flower and many others can do it why not Langer.

I'm actually really, really hoping Langer takes the now vacant England job and plots his revenge on CA. That would be so juicy!

 

[Technics 1210]

It was the 2019 Ashes Amazon documentary that lead to Langer and players falling out. Langer was paid $40K, while players $80K, including fringe players who had less than a min screen time in the doc.

Langer was furious, rest is history.

Bookies have Langer as favourite to take England coaching job.

 

[Junaids]

It’s actually really simple.

Langer’s intensity irritated a number of the players, including the captain.

In cricket the captain is the boss of the coach, so the coach had to go.

There is absolutely nothing else to this story. That’s it!

(This, BTW, is why things were a disaster when Azhar Ali let Misbah control the team).

 

[Shafi]

India’s bunny. His legacy as a coach will be defined by losing two home series to India and for building a team that is proper scared of playing India.

Come on!!! Under his coaching Australia has won T20 World Cup for the first time.
Australia has lost to India due to poor captaincy and drop catches by captain Tim Paine. Also India was superior team than Australia back then.

 

[James]

This was expected. It was clear that enough people of influence within Australian cricket did not particularly want him anymore, otherwise he would have been offered a better contract. IMO they used a bit of a corporate tactic and offered him something short term and derisory as a hint, in the hope that he would reject it and resign.

This could be great timing. English cricket needs a tough, hard coach right now… I would give that job to Langer every day of the week! He will be feeling sore at the moment and will have that extra motivation to create a new, strong young team as well.

 

[wrongun]

Come on!!! Under his coaching Australia has won T20 World Cup for the first time.
Australia has lost to India due to poor captaincy and drop catches by captain Tim Paine. Also India was superior team than Australia back then.

I don't really blame Langer for those losses either. It's only absolute atg Oz teams that manage to win in India and the team at that stage was absolutely not in that class, with India on the other hand currently have arguably their greatest ever team.

 

[wrongun]

This was expected. It was clear that enough people of influence within Australian cricket did not particularly want him anymore, otherwise he would have been offered a better contract. IMO they used a bit of a corporate tactic and offered him something short term and derisory as a hint, in the hope that he would reject it and resign.

This could be great timing. English cricket needs a tough, hard coach right now… I would give that job to Langer every day of the week! He will be feeling sore at the moment and will have that extra motivation to create a new, strong young team as well.

I'd love it if that happened. Add a very interesting edge to things.

Guys like Robinson & Pope & so on who just need a but of toughening up & straitening out (maybe Archer too) might really get what they need to succeed. I have a feeling he'd understand how to get best use out of Broad too- both a bit *****ly but up for a contest.

 

[MenInG]

The international cricketing spectrum was left stunned as the news of Justin Langer resigning as the Australian cricket team's head coach broke on Saturday. Though there have been a few reports of a fallout between a section of players in the Australian national team and Langer, the recent triumphs at T20 World Cup 2021 and Ashes 2021-22 were assumed to have brought an end to those discussions.

However, after a lengthy meeting featuring Cricket Australia officials on Friday, Langer dropped the bomb on Saturday morning by resigning from the post. A number of former teammates of Langer, including Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson, Damien Martyn, etc. have reacted to the development.

Ponting, in fact, jumped straight to the problem area, saying a certain section of players in the Australian cricket team didn't want Langer to continue.

“It is a really sad day as far as Australian cricket is concerned and if you look back it has been a really poor six months on the whole in the way that Cricket Australia has handled some of the better people in the Australian cricket — Justin Langer and Tim Paine — and I think it’s been almost embarrassing the way they have handled those two cases.

“He mustn’t have had the full backing of the board. Me knowing Justin the way that I do, he was very keen to continue in the role, as he should have been after what’s been the best coaching period of his international career having just won the T20 World Cup and then the 4-0 result in the Ashes,” Ponting said in a conversation with ABC Radio.

“It seems like a very strange time for a coach to be departing. Reading the tea leaves it sounds like a few — and as he says to me a small group in the playing group and a couple of other staff around the team — haven’t entirely loved the way he has gone about it.

“That’s been enough to force a man who has put his life and heart and soul into Australian cricket and done a sensational job at turning around the culture and the way the Australian team has been looked at in the last few years to push him out of the job.”

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also spoke on ABC Radio, saying Langer didn't get the backing he should've gotten after arguably the best coaching period in Australian cricket's history.

In fact, Hayden also highlighted the big role Australia's Test skipper Pat Cummins allegedly had to play in the entire saga.

“It was absolutely clear that no one backed him. If you listen to the Australian captain speak the other day, there was not one mention of any sort of commendation or support. That would have been extremely hurtful.

“How do you reckon he’d be going? To hear the Australian captain on Sunrise offer no support and commendation. How would you feel?

“And now we hear Pat Cummins saying, ‘This is a high performance environment, we all go through a high performance review’. I’m sorry Pat but that’s garbage … this just reeks of being orchestrated.”

The likes of Damien Martyn and Mitchell Johnson also took to social media to express their disappointment on the development.

Martyn tweeted: "Disgraceful treatment of Langer. Would love to know what Langer's KPI's were when he took over the basket case left from South Africa? He left Australian cricket on top of the world from disaster. Great job mate."

Johnson wrote on Instagram: “It‘s very disappointing to watch the treatment of one of the very best humans in cricket, on & off the field. Makes you wonder how the future looks & also makes you wonder why would you want to coach the Australian cricket team.”

In a statement, Cricket Australia said that the board had offered a small extension to Langer's existing contract but he decided not to renew. The offer would've seen Langer remain in charge at least till the 2022 T20 World Cup. But, he decided not to sign the extension and stepped down from the position.

Andrew McDonald, the Australian men's cricket team's assistant coach, will be given interim charge of the team.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...-justin-langers-sad-exit-as-head-coach/856060

 

[Saj]

My guess - player power strikes again.

Senior players probably not happy with his style of leadership so they didn't want him to continue.

Make it look like he resigned when in fact he was pushed out.

 

[MenInG]

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has questioned why player power appears to have torpedoed Justin Langer’s tenure as coach, while Langer’s manager and another past great took aim at the “faceless few” who agitated for change.

Cricket Australia is in damage control, as an under-contract Langer stepped down on Saturday from his dream job, primarily because of player frustration, after a tumultuous and unedifying few days in which the CA board failed to reach a decision on Friday.

Ponting, Damien Martyn, and an emotional Matthew Hayden - long-time teammates of Langer and still great friends and supporters - and former quick Mitchell Johnson were among those who took aim at CA, while Langer’s manager James Henderson vented his anger.

“As a player, Justin retired on top after a 5-0 Ashes whitewash. Today, despite the views of a faceless few, he finishes his time as Australian cricket coach winning the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. Lest we forget what JL took over in 2018,” Henderson said.

Langer’s mood swings began to grate on players last year, prompting a crisis meeting between disgruntled players and CA, and this summer he was forced to take a back seat approach, with players and assistant coaches having a greater say through a victorious Twenty20 World Cup and the retention of the Ashes in emphatic style.

Langer’s departure less than four years into his appointment, and on the eve of a tour of Pakistan, follows the messy departure of then Test skipper Tim Paine ahead of the Ashes because of a sexting scandal. The manner in which both have been handled by CA was branded by Ponting, also managed by Henderson, as “almost embarrassing”.

“[It] sounds like he mustn’t have had the full backing of the board. He was very keen to continue on in the role, as he should’ve been, having just won a T20 World Cup and the 4-0 result in the Ashes,” Ponting said on ABC Radio on Saturday.

“It seems like a very strange time for a coach to be departing. Reading the tea leaves, it seems, as he would say, a very small group of the playing group and, he believes, a couple of staff around the team, haven’t loved the way he’s gone about it. And that’s been enough to force [out] a man that’s put his life, heart and soul into Australian cricket and done what I believe is a sensational job in turning around the culture and the way the Australian cricket team has been looked at over the last three or four years. It’s a really sad day as far as Australian cricket’s concerned.”

Test captain Pat Cummins and white-ball skipper Aaron Finch failed to endorse Langer, 51, publicly recently. Both men were involved in the crisis meeting with former CA chairman Earl Eddings last year, which resolved to keep Langer in charge - for the time being.

Ponting said he was disappointed Cummins had repeatedly refused to publicly back his coach, but conceded Cummins was in a tough position, given he had to remain loyal to teammates who wanted Langer, the former tough-as-teak opening batsman recently inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, out.

“Pat’s been put in a pretty difficult situation as captain,” Ponting said.

“If it’s not just him, if there are other players that are coming to him to let him know that they feel Justin’s not the right man, then I think that puts Pat in a difficult position.”

During his illustrious career, Ponting said neither he, nor his teammates had influenced the CA board on appointments, although he was consulted about coaches.

However, the Langer situation meant the board either appeased the players, or potentially had a fractured dressing room ahead of what shapes as a searching Test and white-ball tour of Pakistan, where Australia has not ventured since 1998.

“Never in my time as a player did [we], as a playing group, influence what a board was thinking as far as appointments,” Ponting said.

“I might have got asked an opinion here or there on a certain coach, but it seems like the players and, maybe, a couple of other personnel around the Australian cricket team might have influenced Cricket Australia into making the decision that they have.”

Hayden, who with Langer formed Australia’s greatest opening partnership, questioned where David Warner and Steve Smith would be without Langer having guided the pair back into the side after the Newlands drama of 2018. A former CA board member, Hayden said Langer had been let down by the players.

“If he was waiting for the current Australian cricket team to be presenting a face of care, I dare say they won’t be and that’s, to me, the real sadness around this,” Hayden said.

“This was not a healthy process. You could see that the writing was on the wall. It is such a leaking boat, this so-called high-performance culture within cricket. There is no inner sanctum anymore.”

Langer’s West Australian and Australian teammate Damien Martyn tweeted: “It’s crazy … took us from our darkest days to here.”

Former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson wrote on Instagram: “It’s very disappointing to watch the treatment of one of the very best humans in cricket, on & off the field. Makes you wonder how the future looks & also makes you wonder why would you want to coach the Australian cricket team.”

Australian Cricketers Association Todd Greenberg said in recent days that senior players deserved to have a say on Langer.

Ponting said current assistant Andrew McDonald, who sources say is a player-first coach, meaning he seeks feedback from players on what they want, and former England and NSW coach Trevor Bayliss were among the likely candidates to replace Langer.

Langer’s demise comes just days after Chris Silverwood stood down as England coach after a humiliating tour of Australia, with England now expected to consider Langer as a replacement.

https://amp.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...a-after-langer-departure-20220205-p59u25.html

 

[Sherlock]

Strauss recently said he wouldn't mind interviewing Langer for the England job either.

Also what a way to leave your post. Win the T20 WC, and retain the Ashes with a thumping series win over their arch-rivals.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I only ever heard ex players (from his own playing era) support him. Never heard a peep from the current players saying they'd like him to stay on.

The nicest things Cummins ever said about him all used the past tense- the grammar all suggested it was something he'd appreciated in the past but absolutely did not endorse in the future.

Distinctly remember a few current players coming to his support months back when there was heat on him. Didn't pay much attention to the grammar so don't know about that.

Was Langer not well-liked by the players? Because personally this is news to me.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

WOW, with this flaffle and the way they handled the Tim Paine matter, CA has to be up there with BCCI when it comes to shooting itself in the foot or doing things the dumb way and not learning from it in yonks.
I think he deserved better than a 6 month peanuts contract.
Whilst on boards - Hopefully the PCB does better and supports Mohamed Hasnain in getting his action back on track, hopefully a good young man and his talent are not wasted.

 

[Gilly]

Strauss recently said he wouldn't mind interviewing Langer for the England job either.

Also what a way to leave your post. Win the T20 WC, and retain the Ashes with a thumping series win over their arch-rivals.

It seems Langer has no interest in coaching England, when asked he said no way, but we all know as things change and money gets offered anything could eventuate.

 

[Gilly]

Distinctly remember a few current players coming to his support months back when there was heat on him. Didn't pay much attention to the grammar so don't know about that.

Was Langer not well-liked by the players? Because personally this is news to me.

This is more about how CA will handle the coaching position in the future. CA don't want to see a coach stay in the position for extended periods of time and by changing the coach it brings in updated coaching methods. Langer was only offered a short term contract because he was being given the chance to defend the T20 WC but that would have been the end of his rein.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This is more about how CA will handle the coaching position in the future. CA don't want to see a coach stay in the position for extended periods of time and by changing the coach it brings in updated coaching methods. Langer was only offered a short term contract because he was being given the chance to defend the T20 WC but that would have been the end of his rein.

Fair enough but reading the article above and the comments made by Langer's manager it seems some players clearly were not happy with him. Would definitely be interested in knowing who those potential players were because honestly it surprises me after seeing The Test documentary.

 

[Saj]

I'd love to see this guy being the Head Coach for Pakistan.

Can't see it happening though.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Is winning the recent Ashes seen as a major coaching achievement? England would have been pummelled regardless of the coach.

He did well helping to bring the WT20 to Aus but the beatings by India ( especially the second one) and the failure to win against England in England are some significant blemishes on his record.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

I'd love to see this guy being the Head Coach for Pakistan.

Can't see it happening though.

He’d probably have a mental breakdown if he had to deal with our issues

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Lots of speculations in the thread - here is mine.

It’s probably the selection of Usman Khawaja for Pak tour.
He might be against it but this time Pat Cummings came to rescue Khawaja, and he made sure Langer is shown the door.

 

[finalfantasy7]

He’d probably have a mental breakdown if he had to deal with our issues

he wont, he will just leave and come out with the truth in a short interview, pcb is incapable

 

[finalfantasy7]

This is more about how CA will handle the coaching position in the future. CA don't want to see a coach stay in the position for extended periods of time and by changing the coach it brings in updated coaching methods. Langer was only offered a short term contract because he was being given the chance to defend the T20 WC but that would have been the end of his rein.

gilly who do you want as a replacement

 

[Markhor]

Players obviously have input in the choice of coach they'll work with, but I've not seen a coach's authority publicly undermined over a prolonged period of time like Langer has been. I'm not saying who's right or wrong in all this, but this saga is a reflection of two wider trends in the game:

1) The accentuation of player power. Since Kerry Packer/T20 leagues etc, players have so many options to make a living from cricket. They know their worth and possess more bargaining power than ever before. Administrators and coaches now must accomodate players interests as opposed to dictating them.

As Ricky Ponting said, it would've been inconceivable in his day that they could dictate to the board who the coach of Australia should be. Yet it's no secret Langer's taken a backseat role ever since those crisis talks when he spoke individually to players who were robust in their criticisms of his intense man management style.

2) Cultural changes within society. I won't get into the millennial vs boomer nonsense but there's a big divide with styles of communication between the older and younger generation especially in sporting environments.

Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez were very successful in European football in the 2000s. Both are hard taskmasters and extreme perfectionists. Even Benitez's best players said to get a well done from him was like extracting blood from stone ! Younger people today I don't think respond well to that approach. They're more sensitive to criticism especially with the ubiquity of social media. It partly explains why both managers repeatedly fell out with players in the 2010s/20s where their track records are mixed.

We saw Langer flipping bins over, getting in Aaron Finch's face after not reviewing a decision, and making the team rewatch the final hour of the Headingley Test during that Amazon documentary.

It also gets to the basic contradiction in the role of an international cricket coach which has never really been clearly defined. Are they simply facilitators to sit in the background or do we want them to be inspirational, hands-on football style managers ?

 

[arif_2021]

It’s actually really simple.

Langer’s intensity irritated a number of the players, including the captain.

In cricket the captain is the boss of the coach, so the coach had to go.

There is absolutely nothing else to this story. That’s it!

(This, BTW, is why things were a disaster when Azhar Ali let Misbah control the team).

yes,

it is clear now that shift of leadership needs to move to the captain after three decades of coaches determining everything

Ramiz Raja Mentioned this...and Ravi Shastri Actually let Kohli made all on field decisions and served as more of a manager...

control freak type of coaches like alex ferguson don't work in cricket.

 

[arif_2021]

Lots of speculations in the thread - here is mine.

It’s probably the selection of Usman Khawaja for Pak tour.
He might be against it but this time Pat Cummings came to rescue Khawaja, and he made sure Langer is shown the door.

Probably and also Khawaja deserves selection...

 

[Gilly]

gilly who do you want as a replacement

I would like to see Ponting but I don't think that is going to happen.

 

[finalfantasy7]

I would like to see Ponting but I don't think that is going to happen.

ok, how about jason gilespie?

 

[sweep_shot]

Surprised at his departure. I thought he would continue after the World T20 win and Ashes win.

 

[Savak]

Surprised at his departure. I thought he would continue after the World T20 win and Ashes win.

4 years is a long time in this job especially given the bio secure bubble requirements now

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I have always felt like 5 years is a shelf life of a coach with an international cricket team regardless of success. Langer's been on the job for almost 4 years now.

CA have switched between hands on disciplinarians and laid back guys for some time now. Tim Nielson and Lehmann had relatively longer tenures as coaches as they were laid back guys who let the guys do whatever they wanted (pro for some con for others) and players obviously liked them. Mickey Arthur and Langer are much more hands on and strict guys who like to have their stamp on everything and shared torrid relations with their players. (Arthur, though took it to another level by dealing with them like schoolkids with his rigid approach)

Once the dust settled on the sandpaper gate, players started to find their voice again and tried going back to how they were before which apparently caused a breakdown in relations.

Michael Clarke once talked about the attitude problem in Australian dressing room and was ridiculed for that.

So I am guessing their next coach is going to be another laid back guy who would just let captains do their thing. Gillespie seems like a good fit or Trevor Bayliss but Bayliss has sort of "lost a bit" of his thing.

Don't see another strict guy taking on the role of the head coach unless something drastic of the level of sandpapergate happens again.

 

[wrongun]

Distinctly remember a few current players coming to his support months back when there was heat on him. Didn't pay much attention to the grammar so don't know about that.

Was Langer not well-liked by the players? Because personally this is news to me.

He was not well liked. There was a fly on the wall documentary made (called The Test) where players said they felt like they had to walk on eggshells around Langer and couldn't be open with him. Usman Kwahaja was the voice of the players who had the courage to challenge Langer on this.

This was a CA approved PR documentray- so you can imagine what else they felt the need to cut out, if this was the sugar coated version.

His style was unpopular, there was basically a raft of internal player complaints about his style in the last 18 months - leading to new assistants being brought in & Langer "taking a step back" for some series where Andrew McDonald & De venuto took the lead.

It's clear Cummins didn't like his style.

 

[wrongun]

Fair enough but reading the article above and the comments made by Langer's manager it seems some players clearly were not happy with him. Would definitely be interested in knowing who those potential players were because honestly it surprises me after seeing The Test documentary.

Reports for some time from journo's have been that most of the playing group found Langers style oppressive & grating. Not just a few, but many/most.

Some speculation on the radio today it was mostly the bowling group who didn't like him- but they were not alone either.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He was not well liked. There was a fly on the wall documentary made (called The Test) where players said they felt like they had to walk on eggshells around Langer and couldn't be open with him. Usman Kwahaja was the voice of the players who had the courage to challenge Langer on this.

This was a CA approved PR documentray- so you can imagine what else they felt the need to cut out, if this was the sugar coated version.

His style was unpopular, there was basically a raft of internal player complaints about his style in the last 18 months - leading to new assistants being brought in & Langer "taking a step back" for some series where Andrew McDonald & De venuto took the lead.

It's clear Cummins didn't like his style.

Interesting. Wasn't aware of most of this.

And yeah I did watch the documentary and always thought it was kinda strange how it had so many weird, out of place moments but the dominant vibe of the documentary was still largely positive. Now it makes sense that those moments were pretty freaking real and the doc was edited in a way to make the audience think a certain way.

Also, are there any potential frontrunners for the head-coach job?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Reports for some time from journo's have been that most of the playing group found Langers style oppressive & grating. Not just a few, but many/most.

Some speculation on the radio today it was mostly the bowling group who didn't like him- but they were not alone either.

In that case, resigning is probably the smartest thing Langer could have done.

 

[wrongun]

I have always felt like 5 years is a shelf life of a coach with an international cricket team regardless of success. Langer's been on the job for almost 4 years now.

CA have switched between hands on disciplinarians and laid back guys for some time now. Tim Nielson and Lehmann had relatively longer tenures as coaches as they were laid back guys who let the guys do whatever they wanted (pro for some con for others) and players obviously liked them. Mickey Arthur and Langer are much more hands on and strict guys who like to have their stamp on everything and shared torrid relations with their players. (Arthur, though took it to another level by dealing with them like schoolkids with his rigid approach)

Once the dust settled on the sandpaper gate, players started to find their voice again and tried going back to how they were before which apparently caused a breakdown in relations.

Michael Clarke once talked about the attitude problem in Australian dressing room and was ridiculed for that.

So I am guessing their next coach is going to be another laid back guy who would just let captains do their thing. Gillespie seems like a good fit or Trevor Bayliss but Bayliss has sort of "lost a bit" of his thing.

Don't see another strict guy taking on the role of the head coach unless something drastic of the level of sandpapergate happens again.

You're right about the switching back and forth. It has a history going back to Border & Simpson.

Simpson was brought into a similar situation to Langer in some ways- Oz cricket at its lowest ebb in the mid 80s. A team torn apart by Packer, rebel SA tours/bans, poor performance and very inexperienced team with a brand new captain who didn't even want the job, he was just the only guy sure of his place (Border).

Simpson "took charge" and ran the team & dominated proceedings. At the time, Border was fine with this- being a reluctant captain anyway. This was a big change from the Chappel & benaud eras when it was ALWAYS the captains show in Australia.

This style worked for a time- Simpsons strict style & focus on getting better at the very basics (endless fielding, catching & running between the wickets to at least maximise whatever player skills could produce) and emphasising toughness & character, over dramatic flair.

Over the years Border grew into the role, became a legend, the team had some success and Border wanted to take more control of proceedings. But Simpson was reluctant to relinquish any control.

Borders advice to Taylor when he took over were to make sure it was HIS team and not give too much power over to the coaches, even at the start, or he'd forever be struggling to get it back. Taylor took the advice & never looked back.

FOr a period the team was incredibly succesful & super experienced so guys like Waugh & Ponting also owned the team. Buchanan had input but of course, no one can tell Ponting or S Waugh how to run their own team.

Lehman was a "laid back" style coach but there had been a big loss of player experience & leadership by the time Smith took over. And Smith is self focussed, nice guy but kind of an oddball and not (at that stage) really a natural leader or dominant personality. No Waughs, no Warne, no Hayden, no CLarke etc. The team got a bit lost without a strong captain OR a strong guiding coach. In hindsight, Smith probably needed a stronger coach in that period.

Cummins is a very different guy. Very smart. Educated. WAY more aware of the world and knowledgeable & leadership than Smith was. He seemed to resent Langers OTT, smothering, footy player inspirational instagram quotes style of doing things.

 

[Rana]

Dont think this has anything to do with Pakistan. He just was not liked by the team. Pat Cummins in many press conferences did not whole heartedly back him. Also 4 years is a long time for a coach in the job, the players at times want someone with a new set of eyes and ideas and approach.

Pakistan need a head coach. Langer and Silverwood are available.

Will any of the two ever take the job even if they are offered $200-400k a year? I think not.

 

[topspin]

Opportunity for Misbah to become Head Coach of Australia.

 

[wrongun]

Pakistan need a head coach. Langer and Silverwood are available.

Will any of the two ever take the job even if they are offered $200-400k a year? I think not.

I don't know much about Silverwood.

Personally I don't think Langer would. I see him coaching West Australia and getting to live at home, or chasing another huge job like England coach + some BBL & maybe IPL. I don't think he has that outward or open outlook an Aussie would need to enjoy coaching in Pakistan.

Lawson & Jones types were more likely- kind of slight "outsiders" in the Oz cricket scene who were willing to think outside the box a bit. Or someone like Gillespie as an up & comer and fits that style of thinking as well.

 

[Rana]

Opportunity for Misbah to become Head Coach of Australia.

Yes. Him and Waqar should both apply

 

[topspin]

Yes. Him and Waqar should both apply

Perhaps it will be second time lucky for Waqar.

 

[volcyz]

My respect for Cummins has gone up completely since this drama.

He withstood all the bullcrap media pressures and by former ex cricketers with their brotherhood rhetoric and agendas, and wasn't pressured to do some useless PR cover up for JL.

Takes a lot of guts to stand up to the AUS media bullies and the Langers former teammates

 

[dildilpak]

My respect for Cummins has gone up completely since this drama.

He withstood all the bullcrap media pressures and by former ex cricketers with their brotherhood rhetoric and agendas, and wasn't pressured to do some useless PR cover up for JL.

Takes a lot of guts to stand up to the AUS media bullies and the Langers former teammates

Langer seems to be another Kumble - cronies standing up for him, while loosing confidence of the captain & the players.

 

[James]

My respect for Cummins has gone up completely since this drama.

He withstood all the bullcrap media pressures and by former ex cricketers with their brotherhood rhetoric and agendas, and wasn't pressured to do some useless PR cover up for JL.

Takes a lot of guts to stand up to the AUS media bullies and the Langers former teammates

Not necessarily a view specific to this case, but more generally I do often tire of ex player interventions.

 

[MenInG]

Justin Langer declared he was proud of what he achieved as Australian men’s cricket coach but apologised “if” he “came across as too intense at times”.

Langer’s resignation letter, revealed by The Australian, was sent to Cricket Australia bosses on Saturday morning following a lengthy Friday board meeting where his future was discussed.

The West Australian explained he felt he needed to quit if he wasn’t going to have the support of current players plus some staff and board members.

“Having been away from home (in WA) since the first week of October, yesterday was a tumultuous day, and with quarantine restrictions now that I am back I am unable to do anything publicly at the moment, but I want people to know I am happy with my decision and proud of what I have achieved,” he said.

Langer was offered a six-month contract extension in a late Friday night meeting with CA bosses including CEO Nick Hockley, which would’ve taken him through the upcoming home T20 World Cup but no further.

“There has been a great deal of media speculation on my future as the Australian men’s cricket coach over the last 12 months and this has taken an enormous toll on my family. I hope through this time, and throughout my tenure, I have held myself with integrity and dignity,” Langer said via email.

“Last night I was offered a short-term contract until the end of the T20 World Cup in Australia, with the sentiment of ‘going out on a high’. After careful consideration I have decided not to accept this contract renewal, and as a result I believe it is in everyone’s best interests for the Australian cricket team to begin the next chapter immediately.

“If media reports are correct, several senior players and a couple of support staff don’t support me moving forward, and it is now apparent the CA board, and you Nick, are also keen to see the team move in another direction. I respect that decision.”

Langer’s exit comes after months of tumultuous relationships with his players, who almost unanimously refused to publicly back him getting a contract extension.

In contrast former Australian players - most who played with Langer - were part of a public push to keep him in the top job, citing the T20 World Cup and Ashes triumphs.

Ex-fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who played for WA at state level from 2008-15 and was writing in a WA outlet, declared current captain Pat Cummins had been “gutless”.

Langer somewhat apologised for the mood swings that turned many of the players against him, though by using the word “if” he limited its impact.

“My life has been built on values of honesty, respect, trust, truth, and performance and if that comes across as ‘too intense’ at times, I apologise,” he wrote.

“It is said that in any venture, if you leave things in a better place than when you started then you have done your job.

“Whilst it is not up to me to judge, I hope Australians respect what has been achieved over the last four years in Australian cricket. From day one I believed it was possible to both win and play the game in the spirit that is now expected from our supporters.

“For the last four years it has been proven this can be achieved and I am very proud of the team for their efforts on and off the cricket field. I hope we have made Australians proud and earned respect from countries around the world.

“In terms of ‘going out on a high’, I am blessed to have been a part of a T20 World Cup-winning squad, an Ashes winning squad, watched the Test team rise to #1 ranked team in the world today, been selected as the Wisden Coach of the Year and been elevated to the Australian cricket Hall of Fame; all this in the last five months.

“I am grateful that today, I am going out on a high.

“Australian cricket means the world to me. It has since I was a kid, and I am grateful for the opportunity to play for, and coach our national team. I am thankful to the board for the opportunity, and I will take with me many cherished memories and friendships from the last four years.

“Hopefully a good job has been done and I wish the team every success for the future.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...d/news-story/63fd5d2d104e3e67baf28269fc65c17c

 

[MenInG]

Justin Langer has maintained cordial contact with Cricket Australia’s chief executive Nick Hockley, who wants to find a role for the former head coach that would put his leadership and mentoring skills to use beyond the confines of the national men’s team.

While irrevocably at odds about the length of the contract he was entitled to, leading to his resignation on Saturday morning, Langer told Hockley of his “respect” for the decision to move on, at a time when England’s interim director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, is pondering an offer for his former Middlesex teammate to replace Chris Silverwood.

Hockley is hopeful that, once some of the emotion of the past few days has cleared, talks around a senior mentoring position for Langer – perhaps linked to the National Cricket Centre where young players are prepared specifically for the demands of international cricket – can develop.

“Absolutely, I’d love to think JL will continue to be involved in Australian cricket,” Hockley told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s got so much to offer and it’s something we’re keen to discuss with JL and his management at the right time.

“He’s been an incredible mentor to a huge number of players over his coaching career, and exactly how we can make sure he stays involved and what that looks like is something we’re keen to discuss. We’re really keen to find a way that he can stay involved.″⁣

One of the hardest things for all players, staff and administrators involved in the Langer saga has been trying to square with him the fact that while he was loved, he was not the right coach for the national team for the next four years – the only sort of contract offer he would countenance over numerous discussions either side of last week’s board meeting. Langer’s resignation letter has provided an insight as to his thinking.

“There has been a great deal of media speculation on my future as the Australian men’s cricket coach over the last 12 months and this has taken an enormous toll on my family. I hope through this time, and throughout my tenure, I have held myself with integrity and dignity,” Langer wrote to Hockley on Saturday morning in an email shared with News Corp.

“Last night I was offered a short-term contract until the end of the T20 World Cup in Australia, with the sentiment of ‘going out on a high’. After careful consideration I have decided not to accept this contract renewal, and as a result I believe it is in everyone’s best interests for the Australian cricket team to begin the next chapter immediately.

“If media reports are correct, several senior players and a couple of support staff don’t support me moving forward, and it is now apparent the CA board, and you Nick, are also keen to see the team move in another direction. I respect that decision.″⁣

Ultimately, there was no way of moving Langer any closer to a scenario whereby he continued in the job for a short time, but accepted that there was not enough trust that his changed approach this summer would be sustainable for a period of years. This was particularly true of overseas tours, where pressure and isolation can combine to drastically affect performance.

“It’s pretty clear Justin was looking for a longer-term contract,” Hockley said. “He certainly felt he’d done all he could to justify a longer-term contract, but through the process it became evident that a long-term contract was not in the best interests of the team in terms of where they’re at now and the evolution that has been undertaken over the past short while.

“We really had hoped Justin would continue on for Pakistan, for the tour of Sri Lanka, and then into the T20 World Cup, and disappointed he’s resigned. That’s the key thing – the difference in relation to the term of the contract. Really difficult decisions, and we wanted to make sure we did a thorough evaluation of the needs moving forward and consulted widely on that.”

Over the past 48 hours, Australian cricket has been awash with fiery comment from numerous former teammates of Langer, stirring up public outcry over the decision. The ex-captain Mark Taylor has described the divide as a generational one.

“The problem at the moment is the current crop of players are creating a divide between them and the older players,” Taylor told Nine’s Today. “Ricky Ponting’s not happy, Steve Waugh’s not happy, I’m not happy.

“None of us are happy because of the way the game has been dragged through the mud. People like Justin Langer, who has just gone into the Hall of Fame, have been dragged through the mud. That disappoints us all.”

In his email to Hockley, Langer reasoned that in terms of the team’s results he was going out on a high. He also professed a love and respect for Australian cricket.

“Australian cricket means the world to me,” he wrote. “It has since I was a kid, and I am grateful for the opportunity to play for, and coach our national team. I am thankful to the board for the opportunity, and I will take with me many cherished memories and friendships from the last four years.”

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cri...-may-be-offered-new-role-20220206-p59u6v.html

 

[wrongun]

Taylor, Ponting & Waugh have never been coached by JL.

They've never been in a covid bubble with him. They are friends with JL. The current players aren't.

They played with and are mates with some people who rubbished their coaches publicly (Warne!). I don't remember any of them getting all teary eyed when Micky Arthur or Tim Neilsen got the boot either.

I DO distinctly remember them saying things during their career to the effect of they wish some past players would just shut up & support the team. Now it's their turn to do the same.

Would the media be "dragging the game through the mud" if they weren't providing the media with juicy soundbites all day right now? If they had just said, ok it's Pat's team and we should respect the direction he wants to take it since he's been great so far?

 

[wrongun]

the-former-greats-lining-up-behind-langer-are-hypocrites

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/the-former-greats-lining-up-behind-langer-are-hypocrites-20220206-p59u6n.html


"Discarded coach Justin Langer and the all-time greats lining up behind him should ponder the words of Australia’s first coach and mentor, Bob Simpson, after he lost the job.

An astute cricket coach but a difficult man, Simpson was surprisingly magnanimous after the then Australian Cricket Board sought the advice of senior players in 1996 before deciding to appoint Geoff Marsh as coach.

“I’ve been in cricket too long not to know that you don’t always get the judgment to go your way,” Simpson said at the time. “You may have your personal views about it being incorrect, but you’ve just got to accept that it’s been made.

“I’d be a hypocrite if I [were] to carry on about this after being a national selector for so long, when I had the job of leaving players out every now and then.”

Simpson could see the bigger picture. If only Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Mitchell Johnson, among others, could see past their little mate.

They have every right to be upset with how Langer has been treated but there was no need for them to trash the joint and the office of Australian captain on the way out.

Whether Langer’s greatest supporters agreed or disagreed with any decision about his future, they should have looked to the horizon and pondered what was best for Australian cricket.

They could have tried to convince Langer that four years was enough, as previous coach Darren Lehmann attempted to do.

This would have been difficult given Langer has openly talked about a 10-year coaching career, but it’s better than setting the game alight.

New Test skipper Pat Cummins has been unfairly singled out for criticism for failing to publicly back Langer.

He merely did what generations have done before him regarding the coach, except the coach this time had a much higher profile than most who had gone before him and has become a lightning rod for attention.

Senior players have often been consulted about coaches since Simpson became the first national mentor in the mid 1980s.

When Simpson was replaced by Marsh under Mark Taylor’s captaincy, Steve Waugh, one of Langer’s greatest admirers, was a senior player.

Then captain and vice-captain, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, are credited with saving John Buchanan’s coaching career after Australia lost the 2005 Ashes series.

Negative player feedback formed part of the Argus review that forced Tim Nielsen out. He resigned after being asked to re-apply for his job following Australia’s 2010-11 Ashes series loss, with Ponting standing down as captain.

And Johnson was right in the middle of the player agitation that saw Mickey Arthur sacked as coach after the infamous homework-gate saga, when Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson and James Pattinson were banned for a Test by the team hierarchy during a difficult tour of India.

I might risk being labelled a hypocrite here, because of my issues with former coach Mickey Arthur,” Johnson said in his newspaper column for The West Australian from the opposite side of the country.

Likewise, complaining about player power is the height of hypocrisy.

“It seems the players now have ultimate power. It is a dangerous precedent that not only harms the present but threatens to undermine the future as well,” Johnson wrote.

Those doing the complaining are the first generation of Australian cricketers who benefited significantly from player power.

Like Langer, many had just started their careers, or were about to, when the Australian Cricketers Association was formed and there was a threat of strike action during the 1997-98 season. With settlement of the dispute, the players received a 25 per cent share of revenue and within a decade player contracts went from six figures to seven figures.

So every time Langer’s admirably loyal former teammates walk through the doors of their houses or climb into their cars, they should think about how they have benefited from player power."

 

[James]

Taylor, Ponting & Waugh have never been coached by JL.

They've never been in a covid bubble with him. They are friends with JL. The current players aren't.

They played with and are mates with some people who rubbished their coaches publicly (Warne!). I don't remember any of them getting all teary eyed when Micky Arthur or Tim Neilsen got the boot either.

I DO distinctly remember them saying things during their career to the effect of they wish some past players would just shut up & support the team. Now it's their turn to do the same.

Would the media be "dragging the game through the mud" if they weren't providing the media with juicy soundbites all day right now? If they had just said, ok it's Pat's team and we should respect the direction he wants to take it since he's been great so far?

The baggy cap culture pre the Michael Clarke captaincy (and this still plays out when the ex pros come out of the woodwork to give their opinion, as we have seen this week) seems to be rife with old bloke’s clubs, chummy cliques, dressing room silos, and personal grudges. I am not sure why, and it has rarely if ever damaged the performances of the team on the field, but it’s an odd feature of Australian cricket which keeps rearing its head. Could be a side effect of the evergreen highly competitive streak (which many other national teams lack).

 

[James]

If they had just said, ok it's Pat's team and we should respect the direction he wants to take it since he's been great so far?

Another point. Being honest mate I haven’t often liked the Australian teams, just as much as Australian fans have often disliked the English teams I’m sure. There has of course always been huge respect on my part, albeit begrudgingly at times.

But since Pat took over I have felt slightly heretical as an England supporter in that I find myself really liking him, his leadership, the strong inclusive values and team spirit that he is bringing to the dressing room culture, and his team.

As a result, my personal grieving process for the surrender of this latest Ashes is already done; I am fully accepting of what has happened and am looking to the future.

Whereas some of the series defeats to Ponting and Clarke sides, as well as any loss of any *match* to an Australian team led by Tim Paine (who I believe to be a particularly massive plonker and rubbish player, an unintelligent and discourteous fool who would drip with entirely unearned arrogance), honestly these events used to take me months to recover from.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you all think the coaching style of Langer will be accepted by high profile England players, you’ve got another thing coming. <br>Players are way to powerful these days to have a strict headmaster monitoring their every word & move. <br><br>That’s why players got rid of him in Aus!</p>— Kevin Pietersen&#55358;&#56719; (@KP24) <a href="https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1490256020156952580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[BunnyRabbit]

You're right about the switching back and forth. It has a history going back to Border & Simpson.

Simpson was brought into a similar situation to Langer in some ways- Oz cricket at its lowest ebb in the mid 80s. A team torn apart by Packer, rebel SA tours/bans, poor performance and very inexperienced team with a brand new captain who didn't even want the job, he was just the only guy sure of his place (Border).

Simpson "took charge" and ran the team & dominated proceedings. At the time, Border was fine with this- being a reluctant captain anyway. This was a big change from the Chappel & benaud eras when it was ALWAYS the captains show in Australia.

This style worked for a time- Simpsons strict style & focus on getting better at the very basics (endless fielding, catching & running between the wickets to at least maximise whatever player skills could produce) and emphasising toughness & character, over dramatic flair.

Over the years Border grew into the role, became a legend, the team had some success and Border wanted to take more control of proceedings. But Simpson was reluctant to relinquish any control.

Borders advice to Taylor when he took over were to make sure it was HIS team and not give too much power over to the coaches, even at the start, or he'd forever be struggling to get it back. Taylor took the advice & never looked back.

FOr a period the team was incredibly succesful & super experienced so guys like Waugh & Ponting also owned the team. Buchanan had input but of course, no one can tell Ponting or S Waugh how to run their own team.

Lehman was a "laid back" style coach but there had been a big loss of player experience & leadership by the time Smith took over. And Smith is self focussed, nice guy but kind of an oddball and not (at that stage) really a natural leader or dominant personality. No Waughs, no Warne, no Hayden, no CLarke etc. The team got a bit lost without a strong captain OR a strong guiding coach. In hindsight, Smith probably needed a stronger coach in that period.

Cummins is a very different guy. Very smart. Educated. WAY more aware of the world and knowledgeable & leadership than Smith was. He seemed to resent Langers OTT, smothering, footy player inspirational instagram quotes style of doing things.

One thing is that Cummins is only 4 tests(1 series into captaincy). Why have Australian higher ups taken a novice captain's suggestion that seriously?

I'll be honest I would like the incoming coach to clip Warner's wings from the start as he has been known to cause ripples in the team.

I've also heard a rumor that Warner and Cummins are both managed by Trevor Bayliss or something. So he seems the likely one to get the vote of confidence as the new coach.

 

[volcyz]

One thing is that Cummins is only 4 tests(1 series into captaincy). Why have Australian higher ups taken a novice captain's suggestion that seriously?

I'll be honest I would like the incoming coach to clip Warner's wings from the start as he has been known to cause ripples in the team.

I've also heard a rumor that Warner and Cummins are both managed by Trevor Bayliss or something. So he seems the likely one to get the vote of confidence as the new coach.

The same Trevor Bayliss that dropped Warner from SRH?

 

[BunnyRabbit]

The same Trevor Bayliss that dropped Warner from SRH?

Like I said I'd heard a rumor. Rumors are not true very often.

 

[wrongun]

Another point. Being honest mate I haven’t often liked the Australian teams, just as much as Australian fans have often disliked the English teams I’m sure. There has of course always been huge respect on my part, albeit begrudgingly at times.

But since Pat took over I have felt slightly heretical as an England supporter in that I find myself really liking him, his leadership, the strong inclusive values and team spirit that he is bringing to the dressing room culture, and his team.

As a result, my personal grieving process for the surrender of this latest Ashes is already done; I am fully accepting of what has happened and am looking to the future.

Whereas some of the series defeats to Ponting and Clarke sides, as well as any loss of any *match* to an Australian team led by Tim Paine (who I believe to be a particularly massive plonker and rubbish player, an unintelligent and discourteous fool who would drip with entirely unearned arrogance), honestly these events used to take me months to recover from.

Fair enough. So far I'm yet to meet anyone in Oz who doesn't think Pat Cummins is a good fella and good for the game. The current team is pretty popular.

 

[Maher96]

Mitchell Johnson has strongly criticised Pat Cummins for his role in the departure of Justin Langer as Australia head coach, with the former Australia quick labelling the current Test captain “gutless”.

In a column for The West Australian, Johnson aimed a salvo at the present Australia skipper, blaming him for the fiasco for his failure to show any direct support for Langer, instead stating that the ball was in Cricket Australia’s court.

“It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. JLs been doing a fantastic job, he’s been there for four years, his contract is obviously up soon, they’re just going through an evaluation process at the moment,” Cummins said. “Which I think is fair, the right thing to do.

We all get evaluated all the time as cricketers. It’s part of a high-performance environment. That process is happening, it’s a decision for Cricket Australia and we just have to wait.”

In his column, Johnson said that Cummins had failed “his first big Test as captain”.

“Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer”, he continued, “Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.

“He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn’t want it to happen.”

Johnson believed that Cummins, being the Australia skipper, must have been at the centre of the decision-making process.

“Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened,” Johnson said. “He’s clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start.

“The baggy green is hyped as the most revered symbol in Australian sport. But what does it stand for now? In the wake of the disgraceful white-anting of Langer as coach, which led to his resignation on Saturday, it stands for selfishness.”

 

[dildilpak]

Mitchell Johnson has strongly criticised Pat Cummins for his role in the departure of Justin Langer as Australia head coach, with the former Australia quick labelling the current Test captain “gutless”.

In a column for The West Australian, Johnson aimed a salvo at the present Australia skipper, blaming him for the fiasco for his failure to show any direct support for Langer, instead stating that the ball was in Cricket Australia’s court.

“It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. JLs been doing a fantastic job, he’s been there for four years, his contract is obviously up soon, they’re just going through an evaluation process at the moment,” Cummins said. “Which I think is fair, the right thing to do.

We all get evaluated all the time as cricketers. It’s part of a high-performance environment. That process is happening, it’s a decision for Cricket Australia and we just have to wait.”

In his column, Johnson said that Cummins had failed “his first big Test as captain”.

“Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer”, he continued, “Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.

“He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn’t want it to happen.”

Johnson believed that Cummins, being the Australia skipper, must have been at the centre of the decision-making process.

“Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened,” Johnson said. “He’s clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start.

“The baggy green is hyped as the most revered symbol in Australian sport. But what does it stand for now? In the wake of the disgraceful white-anting of Langer as coach, which led to his resignation on Saturday, it stands for selfishness.”

Pretty rich of Johnson - who is he to decide whether JL is doing a fantastic job or not? The players have a right to select their coach & not the coach’s cronies. Have these guys forgotten how they pushed out Arthur, Nielsen in the past?

 

[Caved12]

6 month contract extension, lol. CA should get their act together and start running their system like they did in their earlier years. You either fire him or offer him a new contract of at least 2 years, but no CA and the players felt that it was more appropriate to spit on his face with a 6 month contract before letting him go.

 

[Savak]

JL was deluded if he thought he was going to coach Australia for the next ten years

 

[light]

People that are saying that he was a weak coach or was well liked by the players probably never saw the Cricket documentary of the Australian team that's on Amazon prime video. He was a good coach, very strict and wanted to get the job done. However, serious anger issue which did not go well with many players. Can you imagine a Headmaster type of coach travelling with you year after year in a bio-bubble? He was pushed aside by the players because of likes/dislikes reason, nothing to do with his coaching skills rather his coaching style. Infact, he took a crappy Aus T20 team, that lost against Bangladesh 4-1 prior to the WC and turned their fortune around. I would be suprised if an IPL team does not pick him up as a coach.

 

[dildilpak]

People that are saying that he was a weak coach or was well liked by the players probably never saw the Cricket documentary of the Australian team that's on Amazon prime video. He was a good coach, very strict and wanted to get the job done. However, serious anger issue which did not go well with many players. Can you imagine a Headmaster type of coach travelling with you year after year in a bio-bubble? He was pushed aside by the players because of likes/dislikes reason, nothing to do with his coaching skills rather his coaching style. Infact, he took a crappy Aus T20 team, that lost against Bangladesh 4-1 prior to the WC and turned their fortune around. I would be suprised if an IPL team does not pick him up as a coach.

A T20 series win means nothing, this is also the guy who lost to India twice at home in tests, including once with a full strength team facing off against a severely depleted opposition. Some people will also argue that theT20’WC win happened only when he took a backseat & let his assistants lead from the front after the players protested against his behavior. A coach like JL was the need of the hour after the sandpaper scandal, but he is superfluous now in a stable team who dont need a ringmaster to establish order.

 

[Junaids]

My respect for Cummins has gone up completely since this drama.

He withstood all the bullcrap media pressures and by former ex cricketers with their brotherhood rhetoric and agendas, and wasn't pressured to do some useless PR cover up for JL.

Takes a lot of guts to stand up to the AUS media bullies and the Langers former teammates

It really has been the Western Australian Cricket Mafia that has been backing Langer, along with his former buddies.

I very much agree with the Ian Chappell School of Team Management: the captain is the boss and the coach is his little helper. The second the captain gets tired of the coach you get rid of the coach.

Pakistan was a joke from October 2019 for over a year because there was a useless over-powerful coach with a puppet captain. It made the team dynamics into a disaster because the captain was clearly not the boss.

 

[wrongun]

One thing is that Cummins is only 4 tests(1 series into captaincy). Why have Australian higher ups taken a novice captain's suggestion that seriously?

I'll be honest I would like the incoming coach to clip Warner's wings from the start as he has been known to cause ripples in the team.

I've also heard a rumor that Warner and Cummins are both managed by Trevor Bayliss or something. So he seems the likely one to get the vote of confidence as the new coach.

An elite state or national coach can never also be a player manager in Australia, huge conflict of interest.

It is possible they are managed by the same sports management company - David Erskine manages Warner, not sure about Cummins.

 

[wrongun]

Pretty rich of Johnson - who is he to decide whether JL is doing a fantastic job or not? The players have a right to select their coach & not the coach’s cronies. Have these guys forgotten how they pushed out Arthur, Nielsen in the past?

Exactly.

I understand they want to stick up for their old team mate but honestly they have no right to trash the current team and used to hate it if past players spoke out about them. Boundless hypocrisy and I think they have zero public support.

Cummins>Langer by a mile in the public eye.

 

[Salma_T]

Cummins is being made a scapegoat by everyone in the Australian media. The only people backing him are his old team mates and anyone connected to WA cricket. There seems to be a lot of sympathy for JL but I just think need to move past jobs for the old boys!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Not sure what the big issue is. JL is obviously a very good coach. But the likes of Johnson had issues with coaches back in the day. Mickey Arthur himself suffered because of the supposed insubordination of the likes of Johnson(Homework gate anyone?) These poster boys for player power are now trashing Cummins? Bit rich and hypocritical of them.

If Pat Cummins does not think a partnership with Langer would be productive, then that is his call. If the results go south because of this call, then the buck will stop with Cummins himself.

I personally think the role of coach is a bit overrated in terms of a team's performance. What has this team achieved anyway? A WT20 - a tournament most Aussies don't seem to care about anyway and a home Ashes? Big whoop!

 

[MenInG]

Australian cricket’s chief executives Nick Hockley and Todd Greenberg will reach out to a hurt, angry and embittered former player group to mend bridges between current and past cricketers, and also to fully explain the reasons why Justin Langer’s tenure as head coach has ended.

Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia, and his Australian Cricketers Association counterpart Greenberg have not only watched the maelstrom of fiery responses to Langer’s resignation since it was announced on Saturday morning but also been targeted themselves by some of its more intemperate voices.

Traditionally, past players have been brought together by the ACA for functions during home Test matches, but given the fact there will not be another at home until next summer, there’s acknowledgement that earlier opportunities may need to be found.

In particular, the generation of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist and other members of what is arguably Australia’s best men’s team to date value frank, face-to-face communication. They have often spoken of the need, if carrying an injury, to look their captain in the eye and say they were fit to play.

Their perception of the lack of these frank discussions, irrespective of how long Langer and CA’s high-performance department had previously been handed feedback about the coach’s need to reduce his micromanagement or volatility, appears to be at the core of complaints about the coach’s treatment.

“There were very well-publicised issues in the middle of last year where there were some very frank and open conversations, and I encouraged the players at that time to have those open conversations with Justin,” Greenberg told SEN Radio. “I remember talking to Justin about it at that particular moment in time as well.

“Certainly, I wasn’t surprised over the weekend by some of the former players’ comments. There’s a very tight group of boys there who’ve got great, strong friendships and mateships with each other. None of that would be surprising when one of their own is going through a difficult time.

“But I go back to this premise that the coaching structure and the people involved four years ago on the back of having to recreate the Australian brand, are probably different to what the requirements look like in the next four years. CA have thought carefully about that. People can be critical of that, but I think that’s how you’ve got to look through the lens.″⁣

The role of a cricket coach will be different depending on the team, but also depending on the level at which they play. Junior and development coaches have the capacity to wring huge improvements from cricketers as they learn and grow, and state coaches can help polish further.

At international level, however, marginal gains in technique or aptitude are widely considered secondary to tactical and environmental advantages – imparting good information in a sanctuary that relieves the pressures already felt.

Peter Handscomb, the Victoria captain who has been coached by Langer for Australia, said his state coaches Andrew McDonald, David Saker and Chris Rogers had each put a high premium on staying level.

“Something they’ve all had in common is that win, lose or draw, if you walk into the change rooms you can’t really tell from their reaction,” Handscomb told RSN Radio. “They’ve been very, very consistent over the years and just that sort of consistent messaging, which has been really, really good from people like that.

“Once you go to that Australian team, it’s the best 11 players in the country, they all know what they’re doing, they all know their game. The best way as a coach you can facilitate that, make sure they’re happy and in a good mindset, that’s a great way to go about it.″⁣

Handscomb expressed hope that the standing of Australian cricket, built up over the past four years since the Newlands scandal, would not be torn down on the basis of “one decision” around a change of coach.

“Australian cricket is in a very good space at the moment, coming off an incredible T20 World Cup win and winning the Ashes on home soil after retaining them in England as well,” he said.

“The country’s right behind the team, the players are playing some of the best cricket I’ve ever seen, so I’d be really disappointed if one decision really divides the support this Australian team have got over the past couple of years.”

Australia’s squad for the tour of Pakistan is set to be named on Tuesday, to be coached by the interim in the role, McDonald. Jhye Richardson is not expected to make the trip, but Marcus Harris will be persisted with.

In keeping with the philosophy he has exhibited so far, the selection chair George Bailey and other team planners are looking at successive tours to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India as a chance to grow and improve the team’s approach in Asian conditions with a consistently selected team.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...bridges-over-langer-exit-20220207-p59ucv.html

 

[MenInG]

New Delhi: Former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist lashed out at Cricket Australia and some of the players in the team for the treatment meted out to Justin Langer, who had resigned from his role as the head coach of Australia after the cricket board decided not to give him a long-term contract.

“He’s been painted by some particular people as a monster, that is not Justin Langer,” said Gilchrist. “He’ll be the first to admit he has his frailties, he has his areas of weakness, but gee, he’ll sit and look you in the eye and work it out with you,” Gilchrist told sen.com.au.

Lauding his resignation letter, Gilchrist said that it summed up the person Langer was although he reckoned that there was no need to apologise for who he was and how he has led his life.

“So, to be painted as a monster, what sort of effect would that have on you personally and what’s the flow-on effect to your family and the people that are nearest and dearest to you, particularly through a period of time when you’re not nearly understanding what is going on, the consistent innuendo and rumour. I think he stated it perfectly in his resignation letter, honesty, respect, trust, truth, performance,” added Gilchrist.

“And then, unfortunately, he felt a compelling need to say if that’s been the trouble I apologise, they’re the foundations he bases his life on. I totally agree with him, (but) I, unfortunately, disagree with him that he felt a need to apologise because that shouldn’t be a situation,” he further said.

Gilchrist who was also a teammate of Langer said that the personal capital and the human capital that they (CA and players) are prepared to churn and burn is extraordinary and referred to some of them as greedy.

“They could have offered him (Langer) a five-year deal, but I think through the last few days Justin realised that a lot of those key fundamentals and values that he has always and consistently based his life on, there was very little of that coming from either within the group or from Cricket Australia, and that’s where again where I think my focus goes to now,” Gilchrist continued.

“It’s done, the players know they have to manage that going forward now with whoever fills that role permanently, and they may well sit back in a year’s time and say, ‘Look, we did it, we got the results’, but the cost on a human being and a family and the method with which everyone has gone about this, nonetheless Cricket Australia and the board, it just stuns me. The personal capital and the human capital that they (CA and players) are prepared to churn and burn is extraordinary.

“I think it’s quite reckless and some of the decision-making over a long period of time in there has been fuelled by greed, it really leaves me staggered,” added Gilchrist.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...tion-letter-says-no-need-to-apologise-1013105

 

[light]

A T20 series win means nothing, this is also the guy who lost to India twice at home in tests, including once with a full strength team facing off against a severely depleted opposition. Some people will also argue that theT20’WC win happened only when he took a backseat & let his assistants lead from the front after the players protested against his behavior. A coach like JL was the need of the hour after the sandpaper scandal, but he is superfluous now in a stable team who dont need a ringmaster to establish order.

I 100% agree with you about the fact that he needed to go, however, some people are pointing out that he was a terrible coach. He was a good coach in my opinion. Teams like PAK/SL/BD needs a headmaster coach like that ... most of the players are ill disciplened.

At the end of the day, if players are not happy with their coach, they should be able to work with someone they feel comfortable with.

 

[MenInG]

Test opener Usman Khawaja believes departing coach Justin Langer's legacy in the role will be the humility he restored to the national men's team.

Khawaja was today named as part of Australia's 18-man squad for the upcoming three-Test tour of Pakistan, which will be the first in the format without Langer, who resigned on Saturday morning following months of speculation about his future in the role.

The 35-year-old has a longstanding relationship with Langer – who was Australia's batting coach when he debuted in the 2010-11 Ashes – which he has always maintained was an amicable one despite suggestions the pair didn't get along after 'The Test' documentary showed the pair clashing over several issues.

Reflecting on Langer's tenure today, Khawaja called out ‘humility’ as the key trait he associated with the 105-Test veteran, who he feels was responsible for bringing back to an Australian group that had been heavily criticised for its aggressive and at-times unsporting approach in the lead-up to, and during, the sandpaper affair in Cape Town in 2018.

"One thing that I do love 'JL' (Langer) for, what I feel like he brought back was humility – I felt like he brought humility back into the Australian cricket team," he said. "It's all about legacy and for me that's one thing he left behind, because I know what we were playing like before he was coach, and I know what we were playing like after he was coach.

"I haven't said that to him yet, but I'm saying it to you guys (the media)."

Khawaja came out in support of the beleaguered Langer as far back as last August via his own YouTube channel, and the Queensland skipper clarified his position today when asked about his relationship with the 50-year-old, whose intense coaching style had reportedly rubbed some players the wrong way during his tenure.

"I supported Langer the person," he said. "I felt like people were attacking himself, Justin Langer, and I felt that was a bit unfair; you've got to separate the coach from the person. And that's probably where I was coming from."

On the current situation, Khawaja added: "I've spoken to him … I feel for the man himself, because I've got along with Justin for a long time.

"I love him as a bloke, he's a legend, and on a personal level, whether I get dropped, or whether he's not the Australian coach, we have that relationship.

"It's hard on a human level for 'JL' (Langer) and I felt for him and his family at the time, as I would anyone in that situation, but other than that, I didn't really know what was going on – I wasn't part of the process – so for me, it was just business as usual."

Khawaja also noted he had seen positive changes in Langer the coach from the left-hander's previous stint in the Australia set-up, which ended in the UK in 2019, to his return this summer.

"JL is one guy if you give him feedback, he normally pushes back to start but always takes it in at some stage," he said. "He was always trying to improve as a coach, as a person, and trying to do his best.

"I could see, definitely, improvements in places where he probably was a bit weaker with his coaching and it's like all of us, we're all trying to improve … and I could definitely see that the effort being put in.

"I still always got along with him."

Khawaja is set to open the batting for Queensland tomorrow against New South Wales in the Marsh Sheffield Shield on what looks set to be a particularly green Gabba wicket.

The incumbent Test opener, who replaced Marcus Harris in the final Vodafone Ashes Test in Hobart last month, will fill in at the top of the Bulls order for Joe Burns, who is out with COVID-19.

Right-hander Sam Truloff, who has played 10 first-class matches and has been in irresistible form for Wests in Queensland Premier Cricket, will slot into the middle order.

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/usm...ility-back-as-coach-australia-team/2022-02-08

 

[MenInG]

Usman Khawaja has broken the silence of Australian cricketers after Justin Langer’s resignation, offering his support to the former coach.

Since Langer’s resignation on Saturday there has been a clear absence of support from current Aussie players, furthering speculation they are behind the coach’s exit.

Addressing to media on Tuesday, Khawaja confirmed he’d spoken to Langer before refusing to elaborate on what was said.

“That’s none of your business,” he laughed.

Langer’s recent record cannot be pointed to as why Cricket Australia only offered Langer a measly six-month contract extension through until the end of the year, Khawaja admitting senior players were involved in conversations with CA.

However, Khawaja – who only played two Tests this summer including successive centuries in Sydney – said he “wasn’t involved” in that process due to his recent addition to the team, despite travelling with the side as the reserve batter for the five Ashes Tests.

“I can’t really answer for the other guys, but for myself I wasn’t involved in the process, I think CA handled that,” Khawaja said.

“I think the players, certain senior members, will always have input in this decision, which I think is 100% fair, so they should.

“But I don’t think they’re behind making the decision at the end of the day, it rests with Nick (Hockley) and the other high-performance people around Cricket Australia.”

The 35-year-old suggested only white-ball captain Aaron Finch or Test captain Pat Cummins could put an end to the conversation.

“At some stage one of the captains, probably ‘Finchy’ or ‘Patty’, will probably have to stand up and answer some questions just to get rid of all the speculation that's going around,” Khawaja said.

“To just put an end to it all.”

Mitchell Johnson and Matthew Hayden have both been critical of Cummins’ role in the saga, who failed to endorse Langer for a contract extension in numerous interviews last week.

Khawaja was a regular member of the Test squad before being dropped by Langer during the 2019 Ashes in England, spending multiple years out of the Australian setup.

It gave him a unique look on how Langer had supposedly changed, after being forced to confront his intense coaching style during last year.

“Obviously a bit happened a year ago, I think they had some pretty big conversations among the playing group at that time,” Khawaja stated.

“But JL (Langer) is one guy (that) if you give him feedback he normally pushes back at the start, but he always takes it in at some stage and I think he did.

“I think he was always trying to improve as a coach, as a person and trying to do his best.

“I could see definite improvements in places where he was probably a bit weaker in his coaching… I could definitely see that effort being put in.

“He always had the best interests of everyone at heart, so that didn’t change.”

While Khawaja and Langer appeared to have a tense relationship in Amazon’s documentary of the side, the middle-order batter also said the two are on good terms.

“I feel for the man himself because I’ve gotten along with Justin for a long time, I love him as a bloke, he’s a legend,” he said.

“On a personal level, whether I get dropped or whether he’s not the Australian coach, we both have that relationship.

“It’d be like anyone else in that similar role and similar relationship.”

Australia confirmed Khawaja as part of their 18-man Test squad to tour Pakistan on Tuesday morning, which will be his first chance to play for his country on the land he was born.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/02...ers-resignation-calls-on-captains-to-address/