I Really Felt For Justin Langer And I Rang Him A Few Times, Says Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting backed his former teammate and Australian head coach Justin Langer after the ruckus going around in the Australian media over his position.

Cricket Australia backed Justin Langer to continue as the head coach of the team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and thereafter for the Ashes at home. There were reports about the coach having rifts with the team players and he was also held responsible for his coaching style.

I know there’s been a lot of negativity for Justin Langer the last few weeks: Ricky Ponting

Ponting, who was assistant head coach to Langer during the 2019 World Cup, expressed his solidarity with his former teammate and said if anyone takes the role of a coach or captain for Australia then he has to face the negativity.

“I have got no doubt. I know there’s been a lot of negativity the last few weeks, I really felt for Justin, I rang Justin a few times. I and a lot of his close friends have reached out to him,” Ponting told 2GB Radio. 

“As I made really clear to Justin, when you’re in that position in Australian sport, whether you’re a high-profile coach or a captain of a national team, if you’re not getting the results, then you’ve got to expect the negativity,” he added. 

In May 2020, Australia jointly attained the top position in Test and T20I format in the ICC rankings but after losing to India 1-2 in Tests at home this year they were pushed down the table.

Australian cricket team suffered back to back T20I series defeat to West Indies and Bangladesh in their recent tours. Ponting noted the absence of the mainstream players in those tours.

“If you wind the clock back not even 12 months ago, the Australian team were the number one ranked Test team and T20 team in the world, we know all the talent is there. The last tour to Bangladesh and the West Indies was pretty tough to judge the coaches on because I think there was eight or nine out of the starting XI for T20 and one-day cricket weren’t there,” Ponting mentioned. 

Justin Langer is the sort of bloke who seeks advice anyway: Ricky Ponting

Recently Australia’s both captains Aaron Finch and Tim Paine alongside vice-captain Pat Cummins had conducted an emergency meeting with Langer, where Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings and CEO Nick Hockley were also present.

Ponting said that Langer is a person who would reach out for advice and focuses on how he can improve himself.

“It sounds like the captain and some of the senior players have had some pretty direct conversation with Justin about the things they think he needs to get better at. But he is also the sort of bloke who seeks that sort of advice anyway. He wants to find out how he can get better and what he can do better,” Ponting said. 

Cricket Australia announced a 15-member squad led by Aaron Finch for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Australia will play the first match of the Super 12 stage against South Africa on October 23.

Also Read: The Situation At The Moment Is Very Tough, But I Am Confident That I Will Become A Better Coach: Justin Langer