Friday 19 / April / 2024
Sydney: Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins on Wednesday said that Justin Langer should not be surprised with the feedback the players and support staff gave regarding him because there were two years of evaluation.
Cricket Australia on Saturday accepted men's team head coach Justin Langer's resignation. "Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept," stated an official Cricket Australia release. "I think he tweaked and changed quite a bit. He deserves a lot of credit for that. I think the question then became do we think that it's sustainable. We thought it is the right time to make a change. I think some of these skill sets are perhaps a little bit different to perhaps his traditional coaching style," Cummins told reporters on Wednesday.
"I think he tweaked his coaching style in the last six months and did a really good job, but we think now is the right time for a different direction. It's a matter of opinion but we think it's the right one. I don't think he should be surprised though, it's been two years of evaluation. I don't think there's any big surprise," he added.
After Langer's resignation, former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson labelled Cummins as "gutless" and said the Test skipper has an agenda to bring his own coach.
"Mitchell Johnson is just standing up for his mates. I absolutely disagree with what he said. No, he hasn't reached out, but that's fine. He's entitled to his opinion, he's standing up for his mate. I can hold my head high so I'm fine. I actually haven't really had much of it (personal criticism) before, so it's actually been good to get it out of the way early in the captaincy," said Cummins.
"I knew when I took on the job it's gonna come with added scrutiny. The last week's been good ... I'll cop it, but I'm absolutely fine with it. I know a lot of it's come from the right place. We all want to do what's best for Australian cricket. There's been a lot of emotion flying around. Added to the feedback, you've got to take everything in that kind of context. They're all people I really respect so I listen to them for sure. I'd welcome chatting to any of them directly about feedback and thoughts they have," he added.
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.
Langer was appointed as the men's team coach in 2018 after the Sandpaper Gate which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans. Under Langer, Australia managed to win the T20 World Cup 2021 and then the Ashes.
"We're custodians of the Australian cricket team. It's not forever. We just want to do what's best. Me as captain, I want to do what's best for Australian cricket and what's best for the team. It's a responsibility I've been given and I take that really seriously," said Cummins.
