Justin Langer Is Not Stepping Down From Head Coach Role, Asserts Steve Waugh
Updated - 17 Nov 2021, 03:30 PM
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh asserted that Australian head coach Justin Langer won’t step down from the managerial role.
Australia recently emerged as the champions of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 after defeating their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the final on November 14.
Waugh’s comments came after Australia’s stunning title triumph, which many had never expected them to win.
Justin Langer was up against challenges in his whole career: Steve Waugh
Waugh, who was a teammate with Langer during his playing days, said that Langer loves to take challenges throughout his career.
“I talk to him regularly, and he has never talked to me about stepping down or backing away from a challenge,” Waugh was quoted as saying by news agency Australian Associated Press.
“His whole career, he was up against it. He was always a player on the edge, the next one to be dropped, and will he get into the side?
“In a lot of ways, it motivates him. You see it again; when you think he is down, he just comes back and succeeds (with the T20 World Cup win). That’s just in his nature,” he added.
This was the biggest thing for Australian cricket since they were hit by the ball-tampering scandal in 2018, after which Langer took charge.
Waugh credits Langer and both the Australian captains for the transformation of the team since the infamous saga in Cape Town.
“He knows there are no free rides. But I think what he and Tim Paine and Aaron Finch have done since Cape Town has been a pretty amazing transformation,” Waugh said.
Would like the players to take responsibility for winning or losing: Steve Waugh
Just before the tournament, there was a lot of chaos in the Australian dressing room, with the team players unhappy with Langer’s tactics, especially when they lost the home Tests against India 1-2.
Waugh said that players should learn to take responsibility for the match results rather than blaming it on the coach.
The former Australian skipper also felt that the Tim Paine-led side could have won the Test series after winning the Adelaide game.
“You can’t forget what has happened to the side and what they have done. I would like to think the players take responsibility for winning or losing, not the coach,” Waugh asserted.
“There has been far too much emphasis on Justin Langer’s performance and not the players. Realistically, India last season, they should have won that series comfortably. Instead, India were missing all their stars. We bowled them out for 36 in Adelaide and to lose from there.
“I don’t think you can point the finger and say that is the coach’s fault. I think the players have to step up and take more responsibility,” he concluded.
Australia will be next playing against England in the most awaited Ashes series that starts on December 8.
Tagged:
Aaron Finch Justin Langer Steve Waugh Tim Paine
