Justin Langer fallout: Cricket Australia undo years progress after Sandpapergate

The fallout to Justin Langer’s exit from Australian cricket has been far bigger than anyone expected - and the deep wounds are about to become deeper, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

Justin Langer’s awkward departure from his national coaching role has wiped away a large slice of the public goodwill which was steadily rebuilding after the Sandpapergate affair.

It really does feel like four years of steady steps up the mountain has been crushed by one major rock slide.

We could argue for a full working day on whether it was the right call to effectively sack Langer but when it comes to the issue of public fallout, the fairness of the decision to force Langer out by offering him a six month deal is irrelevant.

It’s how the public view the fiasco that is the killer point for brand damage. Perception is more important than reality.

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What is not in dispute is that the public wounds are very, very deep – far more severe than anyone expected - and sure to be long-lasting.

A News Corp survey of more than 14,000 readers was 90 per cent in favour of Langer being reappointed. These are massive numbers and a reasonable reflection of the tone of the nation.

It’s not just Perth either, although it must be said Perth is where the flame burns brightest.

Allan Border used to describe playing in Perth as like playing in another country.

If there was any slight sense of injustice to a local star then it was flak jacket time for the Australians from restless crowds who, during one 50-over game, threw a toilet seat on to the ground.

Justin Langer arriving at Perth airport on Saturday. Picture: The West Australian/Daniel Wilkins

Keeping great Ian Healy wrote about playing there after being chosen as a rookie ahead of Perth favourite Tim Zoehrer. Healy was sledged during his first Test there and admitted he found it distracting.

And Zoehrer, while popular, never had a grandstand named after him like Langer. Good luck to the Australian side playing their next summer and it’s quite possible the most dramatic elements of this saga may lie ahead.

Around Australia, Joe Public is confused and angry over the Langer call. You can feel it everywhere. In coffee shops. At sports clubs.

Salty messages of protest, anger and bewilderment are cascading in by the hour on my phone.

Most of them are supporting Langer but several businessmen have pointed out the valid observation that when an agent of change is hired to clean out a culture their obsessive ways are normally overbearing when the ship changes direction and people have less tolerance and they often just disappear.

But nothing rattles sports fans more than the sense that they don’t know the full story.

They see a man walk the plank but no-one – players or administrators - wants to say they pushed him.

They feel there must be a deeper narrative to Langer’s exit than simply a player reaction to his occasionally abrasive style.

But here’s the issue – there isn’t.

Cricket Australia has crushed years of progress after Sandpapergate. Picture is CA CEO Nick Hockley.

There is no major incident, just a general tone of a hard-nosed coach sliding out of favour with some – not all – players.

There was no booze up, no punch up, no scandal. Nothing but his general tone was an issue and he tried to ease the stress by taking a step back.

Langer was pushed off the plank for being too hard a day after England coach Chris Silverwood went for being too soft.

This probably defines the right space for the next Australian coach – somewhere in the middle.

If he tilts either way … look out.

Crash: CA’s lack of strength no surprise

Cricket Australia had a simple choice with Justin Langer. Back him or sack him. True to form, they did neither.

Offering him a token six-month extension so Langer’s career could end with a defence of the T20 World Cup was like the ol’ “here’s the plank would you like to go for a stroll?’’ ploy, the one which makes it seem as if it was your decision to walk not their decision to push you.

Surely it would have been the only Australian cricket coaching contract in recent history to finish in November when everyone else is starting their season.

Langer was 100-1 to accept it and CA might well end up being relieved about that. Imagine if Australia had won the title and Langer was then sent off to Perth on the next plane home and out of a job.

If you think the current outrage temperature is hot enough now ...

The six-month deal was designed to choreograph a soft landing but it only served to create abrasion and embarrassment for a man just lauded as a national treasure in the Hall of Fame.

It also meant Langer simply had to go immediately, because the solid support every coach needs above and below him had gone.

Incredibly, after losing just one game all summer, the job had become a nightmare which is why Langer made the right call to leave.

If the ship is taking water through the portholes when the seas are calm, imagine the carnage when the storms hit.

Langer had his gifts and his faults. His critics were too critical of him and his defenders (g’day Perth) too defensive.

The reason for this was there is, essentially, two of him and you could be either charmed or chastened by the same man, sometimes both on the same day.

There was the generous, thoughtful, highly principled person who could make some of the kindest gestures of the summer and the brooding, occasionally petulant soul who could lose his rag for the smallest reason.

It wasn’t so much intensity that ground players down as volatility, and there is a difference.

Langer could occasionally be hard work but his mates love him and even those who didn’t cop him accepted he was a fundamentally decent person.

It would have been fascinating to see Langer’s face when he read a CA press release where he was lauded for “restoring trust in the team.’’

Trust? Thanks for that. Shame it never went both ways.

Langer was brought in as an agent of change and change the culture he did. But once the ship turned around a lighter touch was required. He tried to change by stepping back from the wheel but the damage was done.

A key to Langer’s departure was the lack of rapport between he and Pat Cummins.

The bottom line to this story is that player power rules like it never has before and the players must now own their role in it.

It’s not easy to get rid of a coach who had barely lost a game all season. In bygone generations, it would have been impossible.

A News Corp poll has claimed that 90% of fans reckoned Langer should have stayed yet despite that sort of support and a truckload of positive vibes from former legends they offered Langer a contract he almost had to refuse.

A key to Langer’s departure is the obvious lack of rapport between he and captain Pat Cummins.

The new skipper, while he said how much he loved working with Langer, would go nowhere near endorsing him for a new deal.

As always, it was what the key players would not say became as revealing as what they did.

Having a captain and coach on a different page was too great a gamble for Australia to consider, not with such a huge volume of high pressure cricket coming up.

Langer’s departure is a seminal moment for the game because it underlines the force of player power and the challenges facing a coach who wants to challenge it.

Langer once had a meeting with soccer coaching icon Sir Alex Ferguson who told him “the truth always wins.’’

The trouble for Langer, with so many rumours swirling around him, was he was never quite sure what the truth actually was.

Originally published as Justin Langer fallout: Cricket Australia undo years progress after Sandpapergate