Former Aussie cricketers have slammed the national players for not backing Justin Langer as Australia’s chief coach. His four-year coaching contract was set to expire in June, and reportedly there were speculations as Langer’s contract might not continue further due to ongoing player dissatisfaction.
As the current skipper, Cummins is perhaps the most powerful man in Australian cricket, but many were intrigued as he failed to endorse Langer at any stage during the summer or in recent days as speculation around his future heated up.
Mitchell Johnson slams Pat Cummins after Justin Langer’s exit as head coach. “Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer. Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably,” Johnson wrote in a column for The West Australian, as reported by Fox Sports.
Johnson mentioned that Cummins holds a lot of power, and it’s quite obvious that he had an agenda to change the coach. “He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So, when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn’t want it to happen. Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened. He’s clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start,” added the 40-year-old.
Justin Langer’s manager says the “views of a faceless few” have driven the World Cup and Ashes-winning coach out of his job four months ahead of the end of his contract, while his former skipper, Ricky Ponting, called Cricket Australia’s treatment of Langer “embarrassing”.