Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne has urged England to make a move to appoint Justin Langer as their head coach. Langer had worked with the Australian team for four years however he stepped down after the Ashes win at home as Cricket Australia didn’t offer him a long-term extension.
Australia achieved some great heights in his tenure as Australia retained the first away Ashes in the last 18 years when they drew the series 2-2 in the 2019 Ashes. Also, they won their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2021.
On the other side, things went just the opposite for England, in the past year apart from the Ashes, they also lost series against New Zealand and India as they couldn’t win any series at home last season.
“I wasn’t surprised Anderson got left out”- Shane Warne
Speaking to Sky Sports, Shane Warne said that Justin Langer is the right candidate to guide Joe Root & Co. and he also showed disappointment in how Cricket Australia treated Langer after his successful stint.
“If I were England, I’d be jumping at him. Winning an Ashes and a World Cup, it doesn’t get much bigger than that for Australia. But for me, Langer was a dead man walking when I didn’t hear the captain or any other players sticking up for him, saying he was fantastic. I found that really disappointing,” Shane Warne said.
“Why couldn’t Cricket Australia come out and say they were not renewing his contract straight away but would wait until the end of the summer, see who the best candidate is and if Langer is still the best candidate, give him a contract? I thought it was pretty poorly handled and that Cricket Australia were disgraceful in the way they handled it,” he added.
Warne also backed the selectors’ decision to drop James Anderson for the West Indies tour. He said that he is bowling alright but he still needs favourable conditions to make an impact. However, Warne said that he would have picked Stuart Broad for the series.
“I wasn’t surprised Anderson got left out. He is England’s best-ever bowler and when the conditions suit he is still a handful. But when it was flat in Australia, I think he struggled. He bowled a nice line and length, was economical and could dry up and end and could do a role with firepower at the other end,” Shane Warne said.
“But I think he needs conditions. You want him to play in England and if he plays in the West Indies after the Ashes series, it is going to be hard in England so I don’t mind him having a break – but I would have played Broad,” he added.
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