Sydney: Australia Coach Justin Langer Faced with issues in the team meeting ahead of his West Indies tour, his leadership style has taken negative reaction, the captain Aaron Finch said Thursday.
Langer has come under the microscope after Australia’s 2-1 Test series loss to India in January, when reports emerged about his “headmaster-like” leadership style and discontent over the changing mood.
Finch said Langer, who is taking charge in the West Indies for the first time since then, raised the issue at a recent pre-departure meeting.
Finch said via Zoom, “JL (Langer)’s ability to solve some of the issues … from St. Lucia.
“It showed the quality of the man he’s working on.
“We’re all 100 percent behind him,” he said. “The way he has coached Australia over the years is fantastic, we have had some really good success too.
“There is no doubt that it was quite a struggle for them at that time (dissent surfaced), but it was very positive from our point of view.”
Langer admitted in February that he was “angry and intense from the age of 16”, but his criticism was hard to hear through the media.
“He is the killer. I have talked about the honest conversation for years and the worst part for me is that it came out two weeks after the Test match,” he said.
Finch suggested the high-pressure conditions last summer and the taxonomic nature of the bio-secure bubble contributed to Langer’s stress.
“Something was a combination of things,” he said. “A lot of bubbles on the back too, he could have used his assistants a little better and handed a little more.
“But nothing was important – things that every player and every coach would reflect on themselves. He’s no different.
“He has done a wonderful job. The way he tackled it and the way the players accepted it was fantastic,” he said.
Australia arrived in the West Indies this week for five Twenty20s in St Lucia from 10 July, followed by three ODIs in Barbados.
They are missing some of their top names, including David Warner, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, who chose to fatigue after spending a lot of time in the bio-secure bubble over the past few months.
Steve Smith, who is battling an elbow injury, is also absent.
Langer has come under the microscope after Australia’s 2-1 Test series loss to India in January, when reports emerged about his “headmaster-like” leadership style and discontent over the changing mood.
Finch said Langer, who is taking charge in the West Indies for the first time since then, raised the issue at a recent pre-departure meeting.
Finch said via Zoom, “JL (Langer)’s ability to solve some of the issues … from St. Lucia.
“It showed the quality of the man he’s working on.
“We’re all 100 percent behind him,” he said. “The way he has coached Australia over the years is fantastic, we have had some really good success too.
“There is no doubt that it was quite a struggle for them at that time (dissent surfaced), but it was very positive from our point of view.”
Langer admitted in February that he was “angry and intense from the age of 16”, but his criticism was hard to hear through the media.
“He is the killer. I have talked about the honest conversation for years and the worst part for me is that it came out two weeks after the Test match,” he said.
Finch suggested the high-pressure conditions last summer and the taxonomic nature of the bio-secure bubble contributed to Langer’s stress.
“Something was a combination of things,” he said. “A lot of bubbles on the back too, he could have used his assistants a little better and handed a little more.
“But nothing was important – things that every player and every coach would reflect on themselves. He’s no different.
“He has done a wonderful job. The way he tackled it and the way the players accepted it was fantastic,” he said.
Australia arrived in the West Indies this week for five Twenty20s in St Lucia from 10 July, followed by three ODIs in Barbados.
They are missing some of their top names, including David Warner, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, who chose to fatigue after spending a lot of time in the bio-secure bubble over the past few months.
Steve Smith, who is battling an elbow injury, is also absent.
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