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Usman Khawaja defended the right of senior players to express their views on Justin Langer while reiterating that Cricket Australia was the one who made the decision to not re-sign the coach long term which triggered his resignation.
Khawaja denied the coach’s tenure was a talking point among the players during the Ashes annihilation of England and added that he felt sorry for Langer after the newly inducted Hall of Fame member was only offered a six-month extension despite the team’s recent run of success.
The 35-year-old batter addressed the media at the Gabba on Tuesday after he was named in the Test squad to depart for Pakistan at the end of the month for a three-match series in the nation of his birth.
Khawaja said only captain Pat Cummins clearing the air over his role in Langer’s exit would end speculation over a player revolt. He was unsure just how much say Cummins and limited-overs captain Aaron Finch had in the coach’s demise.
“I wasn’t involved in the process. CA handled that. You’re gonna have to ask the other guys that are in the leadership group about that. I think the players, certainly the senior members will always have input in this decision which I think is 100% fair, so they should,” he said, “but I don’t think they’re behind making the decisions. It rest with Nick [CEO Nick Hockley] and the other high-performance people around Cricket Australia.
“I just came back in the team two months ago. I’ve been a little bit out of it, a little bit disconnected, but there’s obviously a lot of ex-players coming and talking about the playing group.
“At some stage one of the captains, probably Finchy or Patty, will probably have to stand up and answer some questions just to get rid of all the speculation that’s going around. To just put an end to it all.”
The players have found an ally in former Australian skipper Ian Chappell, who told Wide World of Sports that Langer’s “PR machine” have ripped into the team for not publicly supporting the coach during the review process.
Cummins has been the main target for a range of ex-players, most who were Langer’s teammates or are affiliated with his home state of Western Australia, with Mitchell Johnson describing him as “gutless”.
“It’s easy to lambast Cricket Australia, because they are not very good, and it was only to be expected, their reaction,” Chappell said.
“But what annoys me is two things – the fact Pat Cummins, who has probably been as honest as you can be in this sort of thing, that he’s copped a bit of a pasting and the Justin Langer PR machine has been at work, and in a lot of cases that’s been believed.
“They [the former players] are going to do what they’re going to do, that is entirely up to them.”
Khawaja was shown having heated discussions with Langer during the the behind-the-scenes documentary, The Test, which centred around the 2019 Ashes tour. He was shown telling Langer the players were intimidated by him and were “walking on egg shells” around him due to his intense demeanour and mood swings.
He posted a clip on YouTube last August titled “Should Justin Langer coach Australia?”, defending his relationship with Langer after the documentary went to air. His words then now take on added meaning in the wake of the coach’s controversial exit.
“How do you think JL feels? He probably feels like the guys in the team are probably stabbing him in the back and that’s what it looks like. That’s why it’s so disappointing. It’s actually a really bad look. This is something the group needs to sort out ASAP,” he warned in the YouTube video.
“At the end of the day, there is something there. A lot of these things stem from JL wearing his emotions on his sleeve and things going up and down and him following that ride, I think that puts the players off a little bit.
Khawaja added in the YouTube clip that Langer deserved the opportunity to coach at the T20 World Cup and the Ashes: “After all that if things are still not going well, the team’s still not gelling, all the players are back and things aren’t happening, something is still up and going wrong, that’s when you look at things and think OK maybe do we need to change something.”
When asked on Tuesday about their relationship, Khawaja said Langer had made great strides in being more adaptable.
“JL is one guy if you give him feedback, he normally pushes back to start but always takes it in at some stage,” Khawaja said.
“He was always trying to improve as a coach, as a person, and trying to do his best.
“I could see, definitely, improvements in places where he probably was a bit weaker with his coaching and it’s like all of us, we’re all trying to improve trying to get better and I could definitely see that the effort being put in.
“I still always got along with him.”
Selection chair George Bailey on Tuesday said while harsh criticism, like Johnson’s attack on Cummins were part and parcel of life as a member of the Australian cricket team, he also felt they didn’t necessarily reflect the reality of the team’s internal dynamics.
“I get that there’s a number of ex-players who are working in the media and that’s part of their role to have strong opinions,” he said.
“It’s hard as a past player to keep your finger completely on the pulse of what’s going on within the team, so a lot of their opinions can be based on hearsay and second and third-hand information.
“I always encourage those players to reach out and get a good understanding of what’s happening.
“Absolutely no-one deserves to have the saga that has been played out as publicly as it has been,” Bailey added in reference to Langer.
“Clearly he didn’t get the length of contract extension offer that he was after.
“It hasn’t been ideal but I don’t subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision.”
Chappell on Tuesday also repeated his long-held view that a successful team did not necessarily need a coach.
“To me the important thing is Cricket Australia have got to ask two questions when they appoint a new captain – firstly say to him ‘do you want a coach?’, and in every case nowadays people will say yeah they want a coach. In that case ask ‘OK, who do you want?'” he said.
“And within reason I think the captain has got to get the coach that he gets on with, and works well with.
“I just don’t understand why a captain isn’t going to have any input into the coach. Why, for instance, do you appoint a new captain and then he’s got to have the previous coach? He doesn’t get any say in it, well that’s bollocks in my opinion.
“Pat Cummins will know a lot more about cricket than the [administrators] at Cricket Australia on the board. Pat Cummins would know more about cricket than most.”
Senior assistant coach Andrew McDonald has been named interim coach and after overseeing the five-match T20 home series against Sri Lanka, the former Victorian all-rounder will be in charge when the Australian Test team leaves later this month for its first tour to Pakistan since 1998.
Ashton Agar was the only addition from the extended group of players that won the Ashes with Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Swepson also named in an 18-man squad.
West Australian paceman Jhye Richardson is the only significant name missing. His fitness is being managed after injuries suffered during the Ashes.
The squad is: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
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