National coach Justin Langer has effectively been sidelined from the day-to-day running of the Australian team, in the lead up to the T20 World Cup and Ashes series.
According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Langer has been forced to take a back seat, with the on-field leaders and assistant coaches given more control.
It follows meetings between Cricket Australia bosses and Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins last month, where Langer’s role was discussed.
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“We’ve had some extremely constructive discussions, very direct, very honest discussions, largely around role clarity and accountability,” CA CEO Nick Hockley told the Herald.
“Through the feedback we’ve got a really clear set of expectations and a really clear plan about how we’re going to collectively lead through these really important upcoming campaigns.”
Langer is contracted until the middle of 2022, but his position has been increasingly shaky in recent months amid reports of player unrest.
Paine admitted last month that there had been a number of “robust conversations” over Langer’s future.
At a training camp on the Gold Coast prior to the team’s departure for the recent tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh, Langer was given some “confronting” feedback about his leadership style, vowing to change his ways.
Eyebrows were raised however, when he and team manager Gavin Dovey were involved in a public confrontation with a CA staffer in Bangladesh.
More concerningly for Langer, the blow-up was leaked to the media by a member of the Australian touring party.
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell told Wide World of Sports last month that Langer faces a “very hard” task to regain the support of the Australian players.
“The problem you’ve got is once you’ve alienated players in that environment, there’s not a lot you can do to regain their support and respect,” Chappell said.
“It’s going to be very hard for Langer to retrieve the situation from here. But Cricket Australia doesn’t understand, they just have a review to see what the problem is.
“Well, instead of another review, sort the f—ing thing out. The problem lies between the players and the coach, get them to sort it out, not some review. That’s the only way to resolve it.”
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