SOME 12 months ago, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a number of cricket fans weren’t totally convinced by Justin Langer as Aussie coach.
In the time since, he has helped lead our national team to its first Twenty20 World Cup and a 4-0 clean sweep in the Ashes, which was a solitary wicket away from being a whitewash. The results were on the board and the public had been convinced he was the man to lead our team (yes, OUR team) forward.
So to see him being treated so unceremoniously just weeks afterwards when it comes to his contract has been a bit of a slap in the face for many.
Those of you who haven’t taken in any news recently mightn’t be aware that Langer, a playing great of the Australian Test team and a recent inductee into the Hall of Fame, had helped lead the side past the ‘sandpaper scandal’ of 2018 and into a bright future.
When it came to extending his contract, however, little was forthcoming and when it was, it was a paltry six-month extension. Langer, understandably, left his post, with Andrew McDonald now interim boss.
His treatment has been met mostly with scorn from the public, and a number of ex-players turned media pundits, many of whom played alongside the West Australian.
One thing is clear, is that results were not the be all and end all for Cricket Australia when it comes to the new coach. If it mattered, Justin Langer would still be at the helm right now.
On our Saturday Sports Show radio hour on 106.7 HotFM Mildura, I discussed this situation with John Hollywood, who as personal trainer and former football coach knows what it is like to be an authoritarian in charge.
He admitted coaches with this kind of personality have a limited shelf life and while it can lead to real success, getting players up the second or third time around by doing the same thing is hard. He said he’d stepped away after successful campaigns because he knew the players wouldn’t respond to those kinds messages any more.
It seems right as no players came out in direct support of him. I also understand that if you’re someone who doesn’t support the coach that you can’t really come out and say it outright if he stays on board.
Skipper Pat Cummins, who has copped a lot of flack for his potential involvement, came out on Wednesday and released a statement about the situation, with the nuts and bolts of it being that Langer’s intensity wasn’t a problem, but that “to be better players for Australia, from this solid foundation, we need a new style of coaching and skill set.”
Seems to me this is pretty well a CA statement and not a Cummins one. I get he’s probably had a bit to do with the whole situation, but I also can’t help but feel he’s been hung out to dry by his employers a little bit.
You can bet your bottom dollar however that if the Ashes went sideways this summer, he would have been dismissed with the tag line ‘performances weren’t up to scratch’ written all over it.
So where to for the team from here? Well McDonald and Jason Gillespie, two of the leading candidates, have seemingly rules themselves out of the equation.
I think a popular selection would be Ricky Pointing, and it would be an appointment fans would froth over. He’s obviously one of our biggest heroes from playing the game and is already well respected as a pundit and a coach within the IPL system.
Honestly I doubt it will happen because the feeling I get is that Ponting will have a similar style and philosophy to Langer, and the way this has panned out would have him take a step backwards.
He has already come out and condemned Cricket Australia over their treatment of his former teammate, along with a number of ex-players, and following that, I doubt CA would take his side.
There are rumblings of a ‘NSW Mafia’ takeover of the Australian ranks with whispers some of the players want Trevor Bayliss, who would give more authority to playing group. I’m not sure if I completely buy into that but without being on the inside it’s hard to tell.
Is it also potentially going back to an ‘old-school’ approach with ‘new-school’ characters? Being the sports nerd I am from all the material I’ve devoured over the years, the captain was always a much higher and more respected position than the coach. While they would work together, it would ultimately be the skipper’s responsibility.
Is that what Cummins is doing? Really who knows but I hope we found out soon.
From a professional point of view Langer should join the old enemy. Sure it feels almost sacrilegious to suggest that, but as we see in all sports, it’s rare to be a coach for the team you played for, even at international level.
The Poms have had an absolute cleanout following their Ashes nightmare, which includes coach Chris Silverwood, assistant Graham Thorpe and managing director Ashley Giles. Eight players have also been dropped ahead of their next tour to the West Indies, including legendary bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. With Andrew Strauss currently in charge on an interim basis, it would be the perfect time for them to get someone of Langer ‘s calibre and character through the door. Just a couple of years after being in the World Test Championship final, the Poms are at one of their lowest ebbs and need someone to grab the group by the scruff of the next and lead them into a near era.
It almost sounds frighteningly familiar, doesn’t it?
