Justin Langer, Australia head coach reflected on the meeting with the national team’s top players and Cricket Australia bosses. Justin Langer has been under scrutiny after Australia’s dismal T20 tour of Bangladesh as reports of a rift with the players emerged.
It triggered an emergency meeting among Justin Langer, Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings, CEO Nick Hockley, Test skipper Tim Paine, white-ball captain Aaron Finch, and vice-captain Pat Cummins. They gathered to discuss the issues impeding the team’s progress and the board gave Justin Langer a vote of confidence.
Justin Langer Confident That He Will Become A Better Coach After The Results Of The Meeting
Speaking to the West Australian newspaper, Justin Langer revealed they discussed everything openly in the meeting. The former Test opener thinks he would emerge as a better coach as a result of this meeting.
“We all got a lot off our chests. I think we are all in a better place now. The situation at the moment is very tough, but I am confident that I will become a better coach from it.”
Justin Langer’s role has been under the microscope in the wake of heavy T20 series defeats against West Indies and Bangladesh and amid media reports that some players had become disaffected by his intense coaching style.
Australia sent second-string white-ball sides to the Caribbean and Bangladesh after a slew of senior players(David Warner, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, and Daniel Sams) opted out of the tours while injured Steve Smith wasn’t considered for the elbow injury that flared up during the IPL.
Justin Langer: Criticism Will Stop When The Winning Results Come
Justin Langer understands that criticism will stop when the results will come. The 50-year old reminded everyone of Australia’s Ashes retention in England and the side’s number one ranking in the T20 format as his achievements. He hopes to return those to winning ways to silence the critics.
“When you win, everyone is happy and gets on with things but when you are losing, that is when the finger-pointing starts, and people look for excuses. We have had a rough trot in recent times but we retained the Ashes only a little while ago and were ranked No.1 in Test and T20 cricket not that long ago. Get back to winning and you won’t hear about anything else.”
Australia was thrashed 4-1 by the West Indies and 4-1 in Bangladesh, their first-ever series loss to the South Asians, raising alarm bells ahead of the T20 World Cup in October-November. Cricket Australia announced their World T20 squad a few weeks ago that saw all their first-choice players return to the fold. The players will likely depart for the UAE in early October. A few of them will leave earlier to participate in the IPL.
Australia recently announced their 15-man squad for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in the UAE. The uncapped player, Josh Inglis, received his maiden call-up. Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, and Pat Cummins made a return to the side after having opted out of the away tours of Bangladesh and West Indies.
Steve Smith has recovered from his elbow injury and will also join the squad. Regular skipper Aaron Finch will lead the side which also includes three travel reserves – Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, and Daniel Sams.
Australia Squad For T20I World Cup
Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (VC), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams