Former Australian cricketer Justin Langer has stepped down as the head coach of the men’s Aussie team with immediate effect after tendering his resignation to Cricket Australia (CA).
The announcement of Langer’s decision was made public on Saturday (February 5) by his management firm Dynamic Sports and Entertainment Group (DSEG), a sports and media agency. “DSEG confirms that our
client Justin Langer has this morning tendered his resignation as coach of the Australian mens cricket team.
The resignation follows a meeting with Cricket Australia last evening. The resignation is effective immediately,” the management firm tweeted.
Meanwhile, Langer’s manager James Henderson followed that up with his own statement saying: “As a player, Justin retired on top after a 5-0 Ashes whitewash,” Henderson wrote. “Today, despite the views of a faceless few, he finishes his time as Australian cricket coach winning the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. Lest we forget what JL took over in 2018.”
Meanwhile, CA later revealed that Langer had been offered a short-term contract extension, which he rejected.
On the other hand, the CA also opened up on the matter and said: “Cricket Australia has accepted men’s team head coach Justin Langer’s resignation, which was received today. Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept.”
“CA would like to thank Justin for his outstanding leadership since he became Australian men’s team coach in 2018 and for guiding the team to the T20 World Cup title last year and the 4-0 Ashes victory. Justin is not only a legend of the game but an outstanding individual. 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,” it added.
The CA further said that they were informed by Justin this (Saturday) morning that he was not accepting the offer and would resign with immediate effect.
On the other hand, CA CEO Nick Hockley praised the outgoing coach and said that the board was disappointed with Justin’s decision although they respected it.
“Justin has been an outstanding coach of the Australian men’s team over the past four years. He has restored the trust in the team and his legacy is assured. We are extremely proud of his achievements since he took over in 2018, including the recent T20 World Cup victory and Ashes success,” Hockley said.
“We are naturally disappointed Justin has decided against continuing as coach but respect his decision and wish him all the best in the future. I would like to sincerely thank Justin and also his family for all that they have given to Australian cricket over the past four years, for which we remain eternally grateful,” he added.
Notably, Langer’s future had been a point of contention for more than a year as reports of widespread discontent among players and coaches about his methods had surfaced in the past few months.
The CA has now appointed Andrew McDonald, an assistant coach under Langer, as the head coach of the Australia men’s team in the interim.