Australian coach Justin Langer defends himself from grumpy claims

Justin Langer doesn’t apologise for setting high standards and while he jokes about being the ‘grumpiest prick in the world’, he says it’s because he hates losing.

Australian captain Tim Paine with coach Justin Langer. Picture: Getty Images

Justin Langer is making no apologies. He get’s grumpy, he admits that. He hates losing. He admits that too. He sets high standards, but he says that is what Australian cricket deserves, people aren’t playing for a T20 franchise when they wear the baggy green.

He laughs at some of the things he is being criticised for in the fallout from the recent series loss: “I’m the grumpiest prick in the world because I told Marnus Labuschagne not to take a toasted ham and cheese sandwich (to the dugout) after his 40-minute lunch break …”.

He says they all have a lot to learn from the loss to India, but they will learn from it, conceding they may have expected to win after the series after such a convincing victory in Adelaide and comparing that to Australia’s 1999 tour of the West Indies.

Watch every match of the 2020/21 KFC BBL Finals Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >

Justin Langer and Marcus Harris at the Gabba ahead of the fourth Test. Picture: cricket.com.au

He says he is not going anywhere, in fact he wouldn’t mind staying beyond his contract which ends after the Ashes to go back to India at the end of 2022.

Langer is, however, disappointed with anonymous claims that he has a poor relationship with the players.

In a wide-ranging, hour-long interview with the Cricket Et Cetera podcast, the coach did not hold back as he spoke about the added pressures of the job during the pandemic and the challenges of coaching people — some of whom are younger than his daughters.

Langer says it might not be the real world, but cricket is a difficult workplace and told of how many times young men have broken down in tears in his office when he coached Western Australia.

There was widespread criticism of Tim Paine after the Sydney Test for sledging R Ashwin, but after Brisbane many critics have turned on Langer and his coaching style.

“We’ve all had challenges in the last nine months, everyone is under a lot of pressure, we’ve just been beaten by India and it was a great series, it was great for Test cricket, but it’s more fun winning than losing,” Langer told Cricket Et Cetera.

“I would suggest there isn’t a single team in the world that if you are losing everyone is under pressure. It was the same when I was a player and it is the same when I am a coach.

“The last few weeks have been Painey and now this week it is going to be my turn and the only disappointing thing for me and you have known me a long time is that I read a piece today saying something about elite honesty and being honest with myself.

“One thing I am very good at — and I wouldn’t be here today unless I was great at self reflection, great at learning — I get advice all the time, one thing I do is I learn and I get better.”

Some of the criticisms appear to have originated from within the change rooms which upsets Langer who was in the same rooms with Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne when Australian cricket was in its pomp.

“The only disappointing thing from the weekend’s reports was there was discussion things were coming from within the camp,” he said.

“You know me, I’m a pretty simple bloke and let’s get this on the record: yeah I am intense, yeah I am serious, I am.

“Do I get grumpy sometimes? Yeah I get grumpy sometimes, I’m not perfect that’s for sure, but I’m pretty good at some of the things I do and you just don’t like it when you feel people — through managers or players, whatever — I would rather they came straight to me, that’s the Australian way as I know it, let’s talk through it, let’s go through it and work things out.

“We’ll learn from it, I’ll learn from it and hopefully be better for it.”

Langer does not apologise for setting high standards.

“I can get a bit punchy, I defend my territory, all that stuff that’s me. I had to do it as an opening batsman, I had to do it in the martial arts for all those years.

“The funny thing is for a long time it really worried me that I had this perception that I was too serious, too intense, that I hate losing. But I’m comfortable in my shoes now, it’s a really important part of being a man and growing up, I am who I am,” he said.

“I have got weaknesses and I’m not perfect and I’ve got high standards for the Australian cricket team, but why shouldn’t we have high standards for the Australian cricket team?

“We are not playing franchise cricket, we have seen after South Africa and in the last few days the incredible expectations on the Australian cricket team, on the way we play and the way we behave.

“I have loved Australian cricket since I saw Dennis Lillee bowl Viv Richards with the last ball at the MCG in 1981 and if I feel like our standards are slipping, yeah, I am going to get grumpy, but that’s OK that’s my job in a sense.

“What I’ve found out leadership isn’t a popularity contest, you have to make tough calls, sometimes you get grumpy, sometimes you get tired. I am not defending, I am telling you the way it is, someone’s got to do it and if you get criticised for it you take it on the chin, you learn from it, you take the advice that is important and you keep getting better.”

The coach was supported by Paine over the weekend, the captain saying he was a passionate man who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Langer has been essentially in quarantine or biosecurity since the middle of last year.

He tested negative to the virus on the weekend and was due to be released from 14 days home quarantine when the Western Australia imposed another five-day lockdown.

The team is due to leave for South Africa before the end of the month.

“I said to Sue my wife this morning it is actually been a bit depressing, it’s been nine months since England of being in a hub, I was just about to get out and now our whole state goes into lockdown,” he said.

“Fascinating times. It’s a really unusual lifestyle. It has its pressures that’s for sure.”

He is, however, not deterred or looking for an escape.

“Overall it’s been an amazing couple of years, I’ve loved every minute of it, I love my players, I love my job, I love the game of cricket, I am going to keep learning and keep getting better, who knows, hopefully I’ll take the boys to India and beyond,” he said.

Originally published as Australian coach Justin Langer defends himself from grumpy claims