“There's No Point Making It A Distraction For Players” – Mike Hussey Opens Up On Friction Between Justin Langer And Cricket Australia

Former Australia National Cricket Team batter Mike Hussey has opened up on the ongoing friction between Justin Langer and Cricket Australia (CA), saying that the timing of the matter is not ideal and warned the players about being distracted by it.

After Australia’s dominant Ashes 2021-22 win over England, Justin Langer stepped down as head coach after being offered a short-term contract by Cricket Australia (CA), and Andrew McDonald was appointed as the new head coach of the side.

Ahead of the two-match Test series between Australia and West Indies, Langer spoke out against Cricket Australia (CA) and Australian cricketers that leaked against him during his successful tenure as head coach of the side.

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Following Langer’s explosive interview, Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley issued a stern response to Justin Langer, stating that his remarks contained numerous “inaccuracies”.

Speaking to foxsports.com.au on Thursday, the 47-year-old Hussey said that Langer is still upset about his exit from the team and he hasn’t moved on from the saga. He said:

“The timing of it is probably not ideal. (Langer’s) obviously still upset about how it all went down, and maybe it could’ve been handled a better from a Cricket Australia perspective.”

However, he added that the players have moved on and their entire focus is on the preparation for the Test series against West Indies. Hussey said:

“My sense is the players have been pretty quiet on it all. They’ve sorted moved on, they just want to move on. There’s no point making it a distraction for them. They can’t afford to make that a distraction for them.

“They’re going to get asked about it but they’re just going to have to focus on their preparation for the Test.”

A lot of journalists use the word ‘source’. I would say, change that word to ‘coward’ – Justin Langer

The T20 World Cup and Ashes-winning Aussie head coach Langer had said that everyone was being nice to him to his face, but he was hearing a lot of things behind his back. He also called out Test captain Pat Cummins’ role in his exit.

“I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, ‘This might be brutally honest’. I said, ‘Pat, there is nothing brutal about your feedback. What is brutal is I’m hearing it behind my back through the media or through sources. No one’s telling me. Tell me’,” Langer told the BackChat podcast.

“Everyone was being nice to my face but I was reading about this stuff, and half of it … I could not believe that is what was making the papers,” Langer said.

“A lot of journalists use the word ‘source’. I would say, change that word to ‘coward’. A coward says, not a source. Because what do you mean ‘a source says’? They’ve either got an axe to grind with someone and they won’t come and say it to your face, or they’re just leaking stuff for their own agenda.”

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