Be Bloody Good, Be Elite In Values, Says Justin Langer Ahead Of India Tests

Ahead of the Test series against India, Australia head coach Justin Langer has warned his players to “be bloody good”.

Australian cricket plunged into perhaps its deepest crisis this year when the ball-tampering scandal took place in the Cape Town Test against South Africa. The series had also witnessed various players flouting not only the spirt of cricket but also the code of conduct. David Warner, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada got charged for poor behaviour in an incident-filled series.

The ball-tampering scandal then concluded the controversial series.

It eventually led to some big changes in the team. The scandal had resulted in the resignation of head coach Darren Lehmann, while Steven Smith (12 months), David Warner (12 months) and Cameron Bancroft (9 months) were handed lengthy bans.

Later, James Sutherland had resigned from his post of Cricket Australia’s CEO, thus ending his two-decade association. Justin Langer then replaced Lehmann as coach while Tim Paine took over as the Test captain. Not surprisingly, the team from Down Under has struggled to do well in the absence of its former captain and vice-captain. They were whitewashed in ODIs in England before losing to Pakistan in the T20I tri-series final. They had also lost the Test and T20I series against Pakistan in UAE. They also lost to South Africa at home.

And as Tim Paine & Co. are getting ready to take on the world number one team, coach Justin Langer has warned the players to conduct themselves on the field.

“Be bloody good, not just at being the number one team in the world, be elite in values,” Langer told Fairfax Media.

He also talked about Cricket Australia’s “Elite Honesty” slogan, saying:

“Where we were with Australian cricket at rock bottom eight months ago with what happened in South Africa, the word ‘elite’ … we have to raise the standard.

“Take the word ‘elite’ out, ok, honesty is a crucial value. If we’re going to develop you’ve got to have honesty with each other, professionalism, humility, learning and your mates.

“They’re really important parts, not just what I believe but what I’ve seen in Australian and West Australian cricket for a very long time.”

Langer feels winning has become a “dirty” word since the damning cultural review was released by Cricket Australia.

“… it’s really important how the players behave on the field. I agree 100 per cent. It is very important,” he said.

“… I said it since day one, there’s no room for abusing people in anything we do on the cricket field … You don’t abuse people.

“It causes trouble. In Australian cricket we’re brought up to play really competitive cricket to try and win it. That can’t be a dirty word, it can’t be a bad thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the first India-Australia Test would get underway at Adelaide from December 6. Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will host the remaining three Tests.