Justin Langer Admits Ambiguity Over Australian Top Order

The Australian head coach, Justin Langer says that many of top spots of Australian batting line are up for grasp. He admitted that there is uncertainty over top six of Australia who is in the saddle to play against Pakistan.

“It’s unprecedented,” Langer told the Weekend Australian. “We’re going to wait until probably a week before the UAE tour to select the [Test] team. Do we know the best six batsmen in Australia? The answer is ‘no.’

Pakistan and Australia will lock horns with each other in October at the United Arab Emirates in a month-long cricket.

Following the “Sandpaper Gate” controversy, Australia will miss its top lot like Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. All the three cricketers faced suspension from cricket after the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa.

However, Justin Langer is hopeful that new faces will push their selection against Pakistan during “ India A” tour to India in September.

The Marsh brothers – Shaun Marsh alongside his brother Mitchell Marsh will be captaining Australia A against India. The other key members of the tour are Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Kurtis Patterson and Matt Renshaw.

All the cricketers mentioned earlier will be under Hawkeye as they will try to prove stance in spin-friendly pitches. Australia will face a similar soil in UAE as that of India.

“It’s two-fold with India and Australia A. One, we want to see who performs under pressure and two, we want to start to get some continuity in our side where possible, but we also need to reward performance, not just talent.”

Justin Langer admits the difficulty of the job

Justin Langer admits it openly that the role of head coach is a difficult job. He acknowledged that the post introduces him to the sleepless nights. Langer replaced Darren Lehmann as a head coach of Australia in May.

“It’s the first time in my adult life I’ve woken up in the middle of the night,” he said. “I did it a few times in England. I’ve done it a few times since I’ve been home. It’s bizarre but hopefully, as I start getting my feet under the table and I start knowing who I trust my new team of people at Cricket Australia, hopefully, I start sleeping better.”