Pat Cummins has broken his silence about Justin Langer’s departure, calling his former coach’s apology to Australia players as “unnecessary”.
Australia’s test captain has come under-fire from former players for what they perceived as a lack of support for Langer before and after the coach’s resignation on Saturday. But Cummins released a statement on Wednesday, in which he referred to Langer as a “legend” of cricket. The fast bowler defended his decision not to speak out earlier, saying he would have put the team and Cricket Australia in an “impossible situation”.
But Cummins believes the team needed a new coaching style to move forward.
“Many former players have reached out to me and silently offered me their advice, which is welcome. Some others have spoken in the media – which is also welcome and comes from a love of the game and their support of a mate. To all past players, I want to say this: Just as you have always stuck up for your mates, I’m sticking up for mine,” Cummins said in his statement, which he released one hour prior to speaking to the media on Wednesday.
“There has been much public comment since Justin Langer’s resignation as coach of the Australian cricket team. For good reason, I have not made a public comment before today. Now that a decision has been made by Justin to resign and given his own public comments and others by Cricket Australia, I can provide some clarity,” he added.
In his statement, Cummins further said: “Justin has acknowledged his style was intense, he has apologized to players and staff for his intensity and I think the apology was unnecessary because the players were okay with JL’s intensity. His intensity was not the issue for the players and support staff. To be better players of Australia, from this solid foundation, we need a new style of coaching and skill set.”
“This was the feedback the players gave to Cricket Australia and it is the feedback I understand the support staff also gave. CA has made a brave call to transition, given the team has been winning. I take this responsibility seriously. I live and breathe it. We also have a duty to our mates,” he added.
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.
Langer was appointed as the men’s team coach in 2018 after the Sandpaper Gate which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans. Under Langer, Australia managed to win the T20 World Cup 2021 and then the Ashes.
