‘Justin has done an incredible job’: Cricket Australia releases statement in support of coach Langer
Cricket Australia has released a statement backing national coach Justin Langer and pointing ahead to a big summer for him and the team, amid speculation about his future.
Key points:
- Cricket Australia reiterated that coach Justin Langer is contracted until mid-2022, and praised his work in restoring public faith in the team
- Langer’s position has been the subject of speculation in the wake of Australia’s T20I series defeats against West Indies and Bangladesh
- CA says Langer and the team’s focus is on the T20 World Cup in October, followed by a home Ashes series against England
In a brief statement released on Wednesday afternoon, Cricket Australia said Langer had done “an incredible job in raising the culture, values and behaviours of the Australian men’s team since he took on the role”.
Langer took over from Darren Lehmann as national coach in 2018 after the sandpaper scandal that rocked Australian cricket during the Test tour of South Africa.
Questions were raised after Australia’s recent disappointing limited overs tour of West Indies and Bangladesh, which saw back-to-back 4-1 defeats in T20I series ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled for October 17–November 14.
Australia has never won the T20 World Cup in six attempts — the bi-ennial tournament was first held in 2007.
“His efforts have restored public faith in the national team, which is a side all Australians can be incredibly proud of,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said in the statement.
Hockley said the team had “an extremely disruptive and challenging 18 months” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite those challenges, the side has had great success in One-Day, Test and T20 cricket, when all players were available,” Hockley said.
He is in the last year of his contract and media reports suggest a recent review by leadership consultant Tim Ford, which has not been officially released, found issues with Langer’s coaching methods.
Last week another media report detailed a heated argument Langer and team manager Gavin Dovey reportedly had with a Cricket Australia staffer over the publication of a video on the cricket.com.au website of the Bangladesh team singing and celebrating after their T20I series victory.
