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Australia’s cricketers have lifted the lid on Justin Langer’s temper issues in their latest behind-the-scenes documentary, with Usman Khawaja claiming players were afraid of him and Test captain Pat Cummins saying they were walking on eggshells around their combustible coach.
Cummins hopes the second series of The Test will soothe any lingering public fury over Langer’s exit as coach last February.
The second season of The Test will be released on Friday, with Tim Paine’s downfall, last summer’s Ashes series and Langer’s departure emerging as the major plotlines.
Players were shown the first two episodes at a launch in Sydney on Monday night, with the series to also feature Australia’s tours of Pakistan and crisis-gripped Sri Lanka.
It was in the initial season of Amazon Prime Video series concerns over Langer’s intensity first came to light.
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Several heated discussions between players and the coach were captured. Those concerns ultimately led to Langer’s departure last February.
In a montage in the first episode of the new season, Cummins tells viewers players were on tenterhooks around the coach.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Khawaja also pointed out his view that players were afraid of Langer and did not speak up to him, while Nathan Lyon admitted he struggled with the coach’s up-and-down nature.
“There were plenty of guys who don’t speak up, don’t talk,” Khawaja said in the documentary. “And they were afraid of JL. That’s the truth.”
Lyon added: “I’ve always said you can never criticise someone who is extremely passionate in what they do, and that’s exactly what JL is. Did I struggle with some of the ups and downs? Yeah. Probably the biggest feedback from myself was just emotional levels (from) JL.”
Langer’s exit remains one of the most contentious points in Australian cricket, with some public sentiment still behind the former opener.
“Players and staff really crave consistency,” Cummins said in the doco. “Over the last couple of years, there were times when the environment just wasn’t that.
“Some people felt like they were walking on eggshells. The players wanted to create their own environment and it’s us taking responsibility for the team.”
Justin Langer and Steve Smith chat during the 2019 Ashes. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
But Cummins was not concerned how the documentary and fallout from the Langer situation would appear to the public.
“We’re all at peace with it. The way it’s told is pretty accurate to how it all played out,” Cummins told AAP. “A lot of these things publicly and outside the group get really heated and can be really divisive.
“Hopefully with the cameras inside the group you get a bit more context and it’s not divisive.
“Seeing it objectively there is a little less heat and emotion involved in the situation as opposed to what might get played out in the papers and conversations.”
The documentary airs after Langer expressed his frustrations over his exit in several interviews before the start of the Test summer over what he claimed was a lack of feedback.
“What will come across hopefully is that we are a team that is really motivated,” Cummins said. “We finished the Ashes series and the next big thing that came across was Pakistan.
“And rightly or wrongly, the nature of sport is we all move on pretty quickly.”
The documentary comes after the summer began with questions asked over the popularity of Australia’s players.
This second season is far more centred around players’ stories than the first, with at-home insights on Cummins, Khawaja and Scott Boland while maintaining dressing-room footage.
“Cricket is a small part of all our lives,” Cummins said. “Seeing people in their natural environment, it gives a bit more context to who we are as people and what makes us tick.”
David Warner described Cricket Australia’s decision to only offer Langer a six-month contract as a “kick in the face”, while also admitting the coach lost several key players in the team.
Langer’s departure at the end of last summer came after CA took on board concerns over the coach’s intensity at the end of his initial four-year deal.
He was offered a new six-month contract with no chance of an extension, which he promptly rejected and resigned.
David Warner. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Langer has since made clear his frustration over the situation, speaking out in several interviews and columns before the start of the Test summer.
Warner’s comments come after after Paine also labelled the short contract “embarrassing”, “unprofessional” and “a disgrace” in his autobiography, claiming CA took the easy way out knowing Langer would not accept it.
“He wanted to keep coaching. It was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract,” Warner said in the documentary.
Regardless, Warner also laid bare the situation within the squad.
“He lost a fair few players, and probably the wrong players,” Warner said.
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