Ousted Australian cricket coach Justin Langer says the lack of support from senior players and the board meant he was right to turn down a short-term contract extension and leave the job.
Langer issued a statement on Sunday explaining why he refused the contract and said opposition from key players and the Cricket Australia board left him with no choice but to immediately exit the job.
‘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,’ Langer said in a statement reported by News Corporation.
‘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 (CA CEO Nick Hockley), are also keen to see the team move in another direction. I respect that decision.’
The gritty Western Australian oversaw the rehabilitation of the team following the Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa – restoring pride to the side and winning two Ashes series and the T20 World Cup within four years.
However CA was only prepared to offer him a six-month contract extenstion and Langer walked.
Hockley then repeatedly contradicted himself during the shock press conference where Langer’s fate was announced.
Cricket Australia’s decision to force Justin Langer out of the national team has been labelled ‘cowardly and disgraceful’ by one of his predecessors
He the board was ‘disappointed’ Langer didn’t accept the offer of a short extension and that he had done a ‘fantastic’ job while coach.
Hockley then said the board unanimously agreed to let Langer depart because there was a need to ‘transition’ away from him in the interests of ‘unity’ for the national team.
‘The decision to start a process of transition is what we believe is in the best interests of the men’s team for unity and future success,’ he said.
‘In the middle of last year, we did have some challenging conversations and some issues and I think credit to absolutely everybody throughout the national team (for that.’
Hockley was also forced to deny the influence of the players in Langer’s resignation after a car crash interview with captain Pat Cummins where the fast bowler refused to pledge his support for the coach.
CA boss Nick Hockley repeatedly contradicted himself in a press conference on Saturday, saying Langer did a ‘fantastic’ job but also had created disunity
Hockley was also forced to deny the influence of the players in Langer’s resignation after a car crash interview with captain Pat Cummins (pictured left) where the fast bowler refused to pledge his support for the coach
Cummins was asked on Sunrise on Friday morning if he would want Langer to continue on at the helm, but the 28-year-old repeatedly dodged the question.
‘It isn’t my call, so I’m going to leave the speculation to one side. He has done fantastic,’ he said.
Host David Koch pressed Cummins on the issue, but he continued to offer tepid responses.
‘Come on, Pat. Cricket was in tatters three years ago, he took the reins, yes he’s a fairly intense guy, everyone in sport knows that and sometimes the intensity can be a bit wearing, but you’ve all got the success, why break up the team?’ Koch asked.
‘That’s 100 per cent fact, he’s been great, the results have been excellent especially the last six months,’ Cummins replied.
‘But it’s also fact we’re in a high-performance scenario where everyone gets evaluated all the time. His contract is up so they’re just running the process at the moment which I think is incredibly healthy and fair.’
Mitchell Johnson (pictured) has blasted Pat Cummins for his ‘failure’ in backing the former coach
Mitchell Johnson wrote a column on Sunday supporting Langer and saying Cummins has ‘failed’ in his first test in the role.
Johnson pointed the finger squarely at Cummins for failing to have Langer’s back despite several public opportunities.
‘Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer. Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably,’ Johnson wrote in The West Australian.
‘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.
‘Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened. 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.’
He went on to say the Australian team had ‘lost him’ as well as its supporters for their role in Langer’s resignation.
Langer has been widely supported by the international cricket community after leading Australia to two Ashes series wins and a T20 World Cup in less than four years
Langer’s loss of support among some players was believed to be based on his stringent adherence to standards, which some found wearing and he was reportedly told in a team meeting to give the players more leeway.
‘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,’ Langer 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.
‘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.’
Legendary Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh posts a message of support for Langer on Instagram after he was forced out of the team by Cricket Australia
Hockley rejected a notion the players had too much power but admitted some were consulted before making their decision.
‘We certainly consulted Pat, we spoke to Aaron (Finch) but we consulted much more broadly than that,’ he said.
‘The needs analysis and the requirements of the head coach have evolved and on that basis we felt it was time to start a transition process – hence the shorter term contract.’
Hockley’s answers did not satisfy legends of the game who called the treatment of the legendary opener ‘cowardly and disgraceful’.
Former Australian coach Mickey Arthur joined the chorus of high-profile cricket figures supporting the ousted leader.
The South African, who had his own situation bungled by CA as he was sacked in the lead up to the 2013 Ashes series, ripped into cricket bosses.
‘Disgraceful way to treat a coach… offering six months is a slap in the face,’ he tweeted.
‘Either give him a proper extension or move on. By offering six months you effectively say you don’t want him but don’t have the balls to fire the bullet!’
Meanwhile former Australian coach Mickey Arthur labelled the treatment of Langer as ‘disgraceful’ as he joins the choir of high profile cricket figures supporting the West Australian
Langer oversaw the rehabilitation of the Australian team following the Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa
Australia’s golden generation stars including Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden are adamant the current ‘precious’ playing group proved pivotal in Langer’s undoing.
Neil Maxwell’s influence in his dual roles as a director at Cricket NSW and as the manager of Cummins has also been called into question.
It was a puzzling decision from the CA board given Langer guided Australia to be T20 World Cup champions in 2021 as well as a 4-0 Ashes series triumph against England just 20 days ago.
Ponting was in disbelief at the treatment of Langer, labelling the situation ’embarrassing’.
‘Never in my time as a player did we, as a playing group, influence what a board was thinking as far as appointments,’ he told ABC Radio.
Current assistant coach Andrew McDonald (pictured) is said to be a favourite among the current squad
Ponting said he felt sorry for Cummins.
‘If it’s not just (Cummins), 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,’ he said.
Hayden went a step further, saying whoever is eventually appointed as his great mate’s replacement as head coach will need plenty of luck on their side.
‘I’m just disappointed because I feel there has been this undermining of him (Langer) for some time,’ he told News Corp.
‘If there is a better person out there, good luck. I am left with a great big sense of confusion and disappointment about why he is not being heralded by his players and captain.’
An external review last year had put the coach’s contract into question after it found players thought Langer’s coaching style overly harsh
Former skipper Steve Waugh, Damien Martyn and Brad Hogg also expressed their disappointment at the news on social media.
Langer’s former assistants, former all-rounder Andrew McDonald and Michael Di Venuto reportedly have the backing of the current playing group to take over due to their relaxed nature.
McDonald will be the interim coach for the upcoming tour of Pakistan, with ex-English coach Trevor Bayliss also said to be strongly in the mix due to his strong rapport with a number of players.
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