Michael Vaughan Reckons Justin Langer Is Doing A Fantastic Job As Australia’s Head Coach
Jan 6, 2022 at 1:07 PM
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain has advised Australia against ending head coach Justin Langer’s tenure when his contract ends in mid-2022. Michael Vaughan believes Justin Langer has done a commendable job since taking the team’s charge three years ago.
Cricket Australia will decide whether or not to extend Justin Langer’s tenure after the ongoing Ashes 2021/22 series. While the West Australian intends to continue in the role and has done remarkably well, the board could replace Justin Langer.
Michael Vaughan Reckons Justin Langer’s Doing A Fantastic Job And If He Was Cricket Australia, He Would Sign Him Up For 2 More Years
Michael Vaughan said that Australia must extend Justin Langer’s contract. Justin Langer, Australia coach had earlier hinted that he would seek an extension of his four-year contract, expiring in June 2022, saying he “loves his job”. Justin Langer had faced criticism for his coaching methods from the players but now has a Twenty20 World Cup in his CV besides adding the coveted Ashes Trophy 2021/22 win to it.
The 47-year old feels the national team might suffer from Langer’s departure, so he should stay for two more years, saying: “I would jump at the chance. Be careful what you wish for – that’s all I’ll say. The grass is not always greener, and Justin Langer, from what I see – he’s doing a fantastic job. If I was Cricket Australia, I’d sign him up for at least a couple more years.”
Justin Langer came under serious pressure after last year’s home series loss to India. The 51-year old’s fraught relationship with the players also emerged. However, he boosted his chances of remaining with the team following the World T20 and Ashes 2021/22 wins.
Opener David Warner fired another shot at his critics and Mitchell Marsh scored a quickfire half-century as Australia cruised to its maiden T20 World Cup triumph, beating New Zealand by eight wickets.
Justin Langer was given the job to overhaul the team’s culture and regain the respect of the Australian public after the ball-tampering scandal of 2018 (Sandpaper Gate) which saw then skipper Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft banned for a year or so.
Michael Vaughan Suggests England May Appoint Justin Langer As Coach If Australia Doesn’t Want Him To Continue
Michael Vaughan also backs Justin Langer to lead Australia to an Ashes victory in England next year, trusting his knowledge and experience.
However, he also feels the 105-Test veteran would be a perfect fit for England’s coach, saying: “He’d take all that information to make sure that in 2023, Australia go on to win the Ashes convincingly in English conditions because they’ve got the squad and the mentality around the group with Justin’s kind of leadership to go on and do so. But if you don’t want him, yeah, we’ll have him.”
Australia has won the Ashes for the third time in a row as they lead the five-match series 3-0. They have beaten England convincingly in all three Tests.
In the ongoing Test, Usman Khawaja departed after scoring a fantastic century on return to Test cricket to power Australia to 416/8 declared in the first innings while Stuart Broad took a brilliant five-wicket haul on Day 2 of the 4th Ashes Test at the SCG.
Usman Khawaja was added to the Australia squad after middle-order batter Travis Head returned positive for COVID-19 last week. This is also Usman Khawaja’s first international match since the 2019 Ashes in England.
Australia has made one forced change in their XI for the 4th Test match as Usman Khawaja has replaced middle-order batter Travis Head who was ruled out for this match after testing positive for Covid-19. Meanwhile, pacer Scott Boland has been retained in the XI as Josh Hazlewood still hasn’t recovered from injury.