Justin Langer has stepped down as the coach of the Australian cricket team and legends have criticised the way how Cricket Australia handled the whole thing.
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In a shocking development in Australian cricket, Justin Langer has stepped down as the coach of the national team. The announcement was made in a statement by a company that manages Justin Langer. Leading up to the announcement, there were multiple reports from players over his rigid coaching style. The resignation was tendered on Friday evening and it is in effect immediately. Andrew McDonald has been appointed as the head coach of the Australian cricket team. His duty will begin from Australia’s five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting on February 11.
Ever since Justin Langer took charge of the Australian cricket team, they have been on an upward curve. From the depths of the ball-tampering scandal, Australia slowly emerged as one of the best teams in the world. They won the ICC World T20 for the first time in history and they thrashed England 4-0 to regain the Ashes for the third straight time. In fact, under Langer, Australia never surrendered the Ashes.
Cricket Australia has today accepted the resignation of men’s team head coach Justin Langer. pic.twitter.com/BhjrN9kuF3
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 5, 2022
Cricket Australia had said that Langer was offered a short-term extension to his current contract. But, Justin Langer did not accept it and chose to resign. The death blow for Justin Langer’s coaching tenure came when Australia skipper Pat Cummins did not endorse Langer.
Read – Justin Langer On His Way Out of Australia After ‘Heated Meeting’?
Commenting on the latest move, former Australia captain and legend Ricky Ponting lashed out at Cricket Australia. He stated that a ‘small group of players’ had managed to get their way and he was disappointed with the way Cricket Australia handled the whole thing. “It is a really sad day as far as Australian cricket is concerned. That’s been enough to force a man that has put his life and heart and soul into Australian cricket. And (someone who has) done a sensational job of turning around the culture and the way the Australian cricket team has been looked at over the past three or four years,” Ponting said.
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer’s best friend, and opening partner in Australia’s days of dominance stated that Cricket Australia had historically handled these crises poorly.
“We’re not talking about a rookie. We’re talking about a legend of the game, a centurion, an Ashes-winning and World Cup-winning coach. Imagine if this was Wayne Bennett who had a championship-winning year, he’d be on the podium right now (being celebrated),” Hayden told ABC. Australia is not the only team in the midst of a big change in their cricket set-up. England has seen wholesale changes; with Ashley Giles and Chris Silverwood both being axed from their roles of Managing Director and Head Coach respectively.
