T20 World Cup 2021: Robert Craddock assesses Justin Langer’s future as Australia edge closer to breaking curse
Australia has surged into the T20 World Cup semi-finals - but it could a huge impact on their Ashes plans.
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Justin Langer is just two wins away from cracking Australia’s 14-year T20 World Cup curse and guaranteeing his bosses a major headache in sorting out his future.
Australian coach Langer’s four year contract ends after this summer’s Ashes and a player revolt had seen him rated next to no chance of getting an extension.
However, if Langer delivered Australia’s first T20 World Cup at its seventh attempt and had an emphatic Ashes series win, the narrative around his future becomes immediately more complex, especially given the coach has made an effort to change his ways.
“The last six months have been quite a humbling experience,” Langer said on Sunday.
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When asked whether he had changed his coaching philosophies Langer said, “To a degree’’, and he had previously admitted delegating more to his assistant coaches to the point where he did not attend a recent training session.
“We keep evolving. I keep evolving. Hopefully I have showed over a long period of time that is a trademark of what I have done in the game. It is one thing to talk about it. Putting it into practice is another thing.
“We have a really great environment here at the moment, a great feeling within the group. We are playing good cricket. Something must be going right.’’
Australia, who Langer believes can be the best team in the world, has gained a pass mark for this tournament by securing a semi-final entry, probably against Pakistan, on Friday morning (Australian time).
Australia progressed to the finals after David Warner (89 not out), Mitchell Marsh (53) and Josh Hazlewood (4-39) helped to trounce the West Indies in their final pool match on Saturday.
Winning the Ashes may be the more important achievement but clinching the World Cup is seen as more difficult, especially as Australia was the No 7 ranked T20 nation and that brand of the game is so fickle.
Langer is set to confront his great mate and long time opening partner Matthew Hayden, who is Pakistan’s batting coach, and the very thought of it brought a smile to his face.
“He is enjoying it I think – we have been back and forth messaging throughout the tournament. No insights though. We are keeping business to business. It is going to be good.
“I have not seen him for a long time. There are lot of relationships in cricket. We will put our friendships down and we will get to business. It should be good fun.
“Our last few games have been outstanding. The boys have really stepped up. It was quite a sobering experience (when Australia lost) against England and the way the boys have stepped up has been brilliant.
“Some of our cricket shows we can be the best team in the world. England are leading the way at the moment and we have some exciting prospects. We have taken some lessons from the tournament in how we can continue to play T20 cricket.’’
“The thing I have noticed about Pakistan is that their senior players look very fit and are moving very well and there seems to be a calmness about the way they are going about their business.
“We are going to have to be on top of our game on Thursday night to beat them. We have noticed at Dubai is that spin after the power play has an impact.’’
How Hayden and Langer will duel in the desert
Hayden versus Langer. The duel in the desert. It’s on … almost.
The Langer coached Australia will line up against Pakistan, batting coached by Hayden, in the World Cup semi-final unless Scotland performs a mini-miracle and beats Pakistan in their final pool game.
The stakes for the long time opening duo are huge in different ways.
Langer, who has a traumatic off-season as coach due to player unrest, has secured a pass mark by making the semi-finals of the tournament with Australia dropping just one pool game, against the rampaging England.
From here on in it’s about chasing the cream.
For Hayden, it’s an entirely different narrative.
He had no major designs on being an international coach until approached out of the blue by Pakistan who noted he was coming to the UAE for IPL commentary and asked if he could stay on. He has enjoyed the journey but no part of him will be defined by what happens in the finals.
OLD FASIONED VIRTUES
The great West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose used to listen to music with headphones at team meetings because he reckoned his life was already sorted.
“Have all the theories you like but if a fast bowler hits one great line and one great length then the rest takes care of itself no matter where you are or who you are playing,’’ was his mantra.
The admirable Josh Hazlewood is living that creed at the World Cup. Match after match he is testing batsmen by grinding away on a good length which will tests batsmen in T20 as much as it does in Tests, perhaps even more because they are under pressure to attack it. He went for 39 against the West Indies but his four wickets were decisive.
Look for Australia to try and use Hazlewood to extract Pakistan danger man Babar Azam in the semi-final. The towering quick has Babar’s scalp six times in 10 Test innings and knows the areas to test him.
ON THE IMPROVE
It seems we have spent the past decade referring to Mitchell Marsh as a “young’’ all-rounder. Suddenly he’s 30 and closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it.
It’s been a bumpy old ride and the gap between potential and performance is still there but to his credit Marsh, who made 53 off 32 against the West Indies, has never stopped working hard and trying to improve himself.
Opposing teams see him as vulnerable to spin but his work against the crafty West Indian slow men, including a reverse sweep off dangerous leggie Hayden Walsh and a daring inside out six over mid-off off Akeal Hosein, showed he is improving against the slow men as was evident during recent one-day series against the West Indies and Bangladesh.
A decade has passed since Marsh was dubbed the next big thing of Australian cricket after starring for the Australian under-19 team.
He never quite got there – and Cameron Green may block his path back to the Test team – but he can still be a more than useful white ballplayer for many years.
David Warner’s rousing 89 off 56 was one of his best white ball innings in years.
The din about his recent form woes was getting louder by the day but even Warner’s calling for quick singles was loud and clear and concise.
Commentator Shane Watson said Warner was it his best at the crease when he stands still, plays late and doesn’t try and over hit the ball. He did all of that.
At age 35 the challenges for Warner are ongoing but Pakistan will be nervous about facing him in the semi-finals because if he bats for 10 overs their tournament could be over.
Unlikely Aussie WC hero hits critics for six
Australia has qualified for the T20 World Cup semi-finals after a comfortable eight-wicket win over the West Indies in its final Super 12s game in Abu Dhabi, as the West Indies bid farewell to two T20 legends.
Australia cruised to the target of 158 with 23 balls to spare as a commanding innings from David Warner (89 not out from 55 balls) and a stellar bowling display from Josh Hazlewood (4/39) steered Justin Langer’s side to victory.
South Africa needed to comprehensively overcome an undefeated England to jump ahead of Australia on the Group 1 table to steal a semi-final spot, though while successful by 10 runs, it was not enough to overtake the Aussies.
The West Indies were unable to see off superstars Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle – who raised his bat to the crowd in a symbolic gesture, indicating it was one of his final innings in international cricket – in style, with the loss compounding a disappointing campaign for the two-time T20 champions.
Australia is now poised to face Pakistan in the semi-finals, in the event New Zealand and Pakistan defeat Afghanistan and Scotland respectively in their final group matches, as expected.
WARNER AND MARSH FIRE
Warner confirmed he is back to his blistering best at the top of the order after a far more assured knock than his 65 against Sri Lanka last week.
From delicate late cuts to powerful leg-side slogs, Warner scored his runs all over the ground and at a rapid rate, reaching his half-century from 29 deliveries.
Entering the tournament under immense pressure after being ousted from Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, Warner has made a statement with two half-centuries in important run-chases.
He combined with Marsh for a 125-run partnership for the second wicket.
Warner noted Marsh’s clear thought-process and hard work as key aspects of his rise.
“I’m seeing a very clear-minded cricketer. He’s training the house down,” Warner told reporters post-match.
“He’s obviously come in at a young age early on and a lot of people were knocking him.
“There’s certain times now where a lot of those guys who have been around for a while are (hitting) their straps.
“His form has been outstanding, he’s hitting the ball as cleanly as anyone in this team. I’m really, really pumped for him and it’s great for our team.”
Marsh, who was the leading run-scorer for Australia in its losing T20I series against the West Indies earlier this year, shone brightly with both the bat (53 from 32) and the ball (0/16 from three overs) – his first overs of the tournament.
His all-round exploits showcased just how valuable he is to the Aussie side, especially after his shock axing for Australia’s loss to England.
LEGENDS’ LAST HURRAH?
While Bravo announced his international retirement pre-match on Saturday, question marks surrounded the future of Gayle in West Indies colours.
Cricket fans looked to get their answer when a shades-adorning Gayle raised his bat to the crowd in Abu Dhabi after being dismissed for 15, appearing to bring his international career to a close with an astonishing 19,578 runs across three formats.
“He’s at halfway. He’s halfway retired. He still has some cricket left, I’m not sure what he has decided yet,” Bravo said with a laugh.
Gayle revolutionised short-form cricket with his powerful and prolific boundary hitting, and while he had been far from his best during this tournament, the Jamaican went out swinging.
His final scoring shot in a T20 World Cup epitomised what set him apart from the rest, monstering a short ball down the ground for a maximum with brute force.
Warner said he holds the two West Indian greats in high regard, describing them as “pure entertainers” and commending their impact on the game.
“They are just pure entertainers. Obviously their cricket class is there, their stats speak for themselves. I think Chris has changed the game for opening batters around the world in all three formats. One he’s got a lot of size on his size but also has a lot of power.
“He put fear in the back of bowlers’ minds and was intimidating. He’s had a great career, I respect that immensely.
“DJ is obviously a great competitor, world class cricketer. You don’t play 18 years by fluke, by any means. To have a career like those two gentleman have, they deserve all the applause and I wish them all the best.”
Bravo, an incredible West Indian cricketer and T20 player in his own right, scored 10 runs and finished with 0/36 with the ball.
Gayle came on to bowl late in the innings wearing a cap and claimed the wicket of Marsh, running over and hugging the Australian batter as he left the field in a humorous moment from the entertainer.
The ‘Universe Boss’ and ‘DJ Bravo’ were integral to both of the West Indies’ T20 World Cup wins in 2012 and 2016, with the pair the clear leaders for most runs and wickets respectively in T20s.
Gayle polarised opinion off the field – most notably his controversial response to presenter Mel McLaughlin in a Big Bash League match while playing with the Melbourne Renegades in 2016 – but he will go down as a West Indian cricket legend, and one of the best of all time for his nation.
KEEP THE FAITH
Hazlewood was dispatched for 19 runs in an expensive opening over as openers Evin Lewis and Gayle targeted the paceman.
But Australian captain Aaron Finch held firm with the metronomic bowler, keeping him in the attack after Pat Cummins secured the breakthrough of Gayle in the third over.
The decision paid off instantly as he dismissed big-hitter Nicholas Pooran and Roston Chase in the space of three deliveries, skittling Chase in trademark Hazlewood fashion with a gem that moved off the seam to hit the top of off stump.
Helping turn the tide, Hazlewood finished with the second-best figures of his T20 career (4/39) after also claiming the scalps of Shimron Hetmyer and Bravo.
DRE RUSS GOES LARGE
Having struggled to get going in the tournament, all-rounder Andre Russell saved his best until last.
His first six of the tournament sent fans ducking for cover on the hill, pulling Mitch Starc for a colossal 111-metre maximum that went into orbit on the penultimate delivery of the innings.
Russell followed it up with another devastating boundary-clearing blow on the final ball, putting Australia on the back foot.
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Originally published as T20 World Cup 2021: Robert Craddock assesses Justin Langer’s future as Australia edge closer to breaking curse
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