After months of speculation, it is confirmed that Justin Langer will leave the Australian men’s team. On February 5, he resigned from his post as head coach after declining an offer extension made by Cricket Australia.
Langer’s decision has been taken after elongated uncertainty about whether he will continue to head the support staff. The news was confirmed by former Australian opener’s management company Dynamic Sports & Entertainment Group, while Langer himself flew from Melbourne to Perth, where he is based.
“DSEG confirms that our client Justin Langer has this morning tendered his resignation as of the Australian men’s cricket team. The resignation follows a meeting with Cricket Australia last evening. The resignation is effective immediately,”
the statement from the company reads.
The board released its own statement on the matter around three and a half hours following the statement from DSEG. The board further confirmed Langer’s departure from the national set-up and also informed that his decision has been made despite them offering him a short-term extension.
The 51-year-old had the chance to stay on board till the end of the home T20 World Cup later in the year but opted not to, perhaps having understood that the dressing room dynamics do not anymore favour his retention.
“Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept. 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,”
CA said.
Langer had come on board following the disastrous Newlands ball-tampering incident in Cape Town back in 2018. Taking over from Darren Lehmann, the ex-Test cricketer’s challenge was multifold. But he battled well through a phase where Australia gradually overcame the bans imposed on their premier cricketers while also ensuring the team reinvigorates its reputation among the fans.
His biggest on-field successes came in 2019 and 2021-22 seasons. In the first, the Aussies made the semi-final of the ODI World Cup before going on to retain the Ashes in the UK for the first time since Steve Waugh’s men did in 2001.
Two years later, Australia under Langer’s guidance clinched their first-ever men’s T20 World Cup crown in the United Arabic Emirates and dominated England to keep the urn at home with a 4-0 scoreline.
Langer’s contractual obligation with CA was due to expire in June, but he was seeking a long-term extension with the men’s team, which led to discussions around his future within the board. Even the views of Test captain Pat Cummins and white-ball skipper Aaron Finch among other players were taken. It is believed the diminishing relationship with certain players in the dressing room had played a part in Langer’s departure.
Before the ultimate call, however, Langer had expressed his willingness to continue and had even held multiple discussions on this front with CA chief Nick Hockley and head of national teams Ben Oliver following the end of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Hobart.
On February 4, CA had said they had “confidential discussions with Justin and the outcome will be announced as soon as possible”.
Upon Langer’s departure, his senior assistant Andrew McDonald has gotten an extension as an interim head coach. Due to oversee the team during their home T20I series versus Sri Lanka, the former Test allrounder will now also be there in prime position for the historic all-format visit to Pakistan.
