SYDNEY: Australian men’s cricket coach Justin Langer announced his surprise resignation Saturday, just weeks after trouncing archrivals England in a lopsided Ashes series and months after winning the T20 World Cup.
The 51-year-old walked away from the top management job in Australian sports after a sometimes difficult relationship with players and acrimonious talks with governing body Cricket Australia.
Board members held lengthy discussions about Langer’s future into Friday night but appeared to have failed to reach an agreement on a new deal with the former Test batsman.
The coach is said to have bristled at being asked to effectively reapply for his job and being offered a short-term contract, despite a stellar record that culminated in a 4-0 Ashes victory and Australia being ranked the world’s number one Test team.
Sports management company DSEG announced Langer’s departure in a terse statement saying “our client Justin Langer has this morning tendered his resignation as coach of the Australian men’s cricket team”.
“The resignation follows a meeting with Cricket Australia last evening. The resignation is effective immediately.”
Cricket Australia confirmed the news but did not immediately comment.
Langer took the job in 2018, with Australian cricket at its lowest ebb for decades in the wake of a cheating affair.
He restored the team’s reputation — despite a series of scandals including the recent resignation of Test captain Tim Paine.
But senior players were reportedly irked by his “headmaster-like” leadership style and new captain Pat Cummins pointedly did not publicly back Langer when asked to do so.
“I am intense, yeah, I am serious, I am — do I get grumpy sometimes? Yeah, I get grumpy sometimes,” Langer acknowledged early last year. “I’m not perfect that’s for sure.”
