Justin Langer knocked back bonus in recognition that others were doing it tough
As Cricket Australia shed staff to cope with the Covid crisis, Justin Langer became eligible to receive a six-figure bonus, money Langer’s morals forbade him from accepting.
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Australian cricket coach Justin Langer secretly knocked back a six figure sum in bonuses because he felt it would be morally inappropriate amid Covid job cuts.
It is understood Langer privately informed his bosses he could not, in all good conscience, accept bonus payments while other staff members had been made redundant.
Neither side has made the matter public.
Cricket Australia shed 40 staff and cut most executive salaries during a $40 million savings exercise during the pandemic.
Langer’s four-year deal, thought to be in the $900,000 a year range, was signed before the Covid era in 2018 and included performances bonuses, some of which he declined to activate after being concerned by the staff-shedding.
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Langer’s future goes on the line at a Cricket Australia board meeting on Friday where a recommendation will be made by performance boss Ben Oliver over whether to offering him a new deal.
Langer’s thoughtful gesture to resist the temptation to squeeze his contract for all it is worth adds to the complex narrative around his future.
Former teammates would not be surprised Langer quietly rejected promised dollars because he has always had a strong moral compass and been capable of acts of great sensitivity and compassion such as breaking camp to console former Test captain Tim Paine in Hobart.
Even his detractors concede this.
The problem with players has been his volatility.
Should JL be re-signed as Australian cricket coach? @cricketcomau#cricket#respect#values#winning#record
— Damien MartynðŸ (@damienmartyn) January 31, 2022
Like many other coaches who were raised in tougher eras and now coach in more sensitive ones, he has been challenged to adapt and it has not been easy.
Former teammates continue to support Langer. Test batsman Damien Martyn conducted a Twitter poll in which more than 80% of fans say they would like to see Langer reappointed.
If Langer is reappointed it is likely to be on a short term deal and the white and red ball roles are unlikely to be split if the contract is two years or less.
Given Langer was at the helm when Australia won the World T20 in the UAE in October he would be given the right to defend it in Australia next summer if his contract is extended.
It is possible that instead of appointing two coaches Australia could rest the senior coach from the occasional white ball series which are becoming increasing irrelevant outside the World Cups.
Not all of Langer’s former teammates feel he should continue with the man he followed into the role, Darren Lehmann, feeling he should quit on a high.
“If I was him I’d walk away, actually,” Lehmann told Fox Sports last month. “Four years, out on a high. Perfect. I coached for a year too long and in that moment I didn’t realise it. I think four years is a perfect tenure. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. He could coach one format, but all three is a lot to take on … JL knows my thoughts on that. I’ve spoken to him about it.”
ONE MAN WILL DECIDE LANGER’S FATE
Justin Langer’s future as Australian coach has boiled down to a matter of who is running the game – the board or its players.
The answer will emerge on Friday when a decision is made by the CA board on whether Langer gets an extension to his four-year deal with the coach now facing a multitude of challenges.
Sitting in his hotel in Melbourne, without any sighting of his Perth-based family since before the summer, Langer is leading a bizarre double life.
Langer knows who his mates are. His trouble is he is not sure of his enemies.
On one hand he has support by the barrel load from old Test mates like Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist who feel his reappointment should be a formality on the back of his recent World T20 and Ashes success.
When Fox Sports Tom Morris named a Test XI of pro-Langer ex-players (Matt Hayden, Steve Waugh etc) on a crisis edition Fox Cricket podcast, Mark Waugh, who was omitted but keen to show his colours, chimed on with “I must be 12th man.’’
But there’s a numbing silence above and below Langer from those with more direct influence on the decision - the CA heavy hitters and the players.
Players have never had more influence than they do at the moment.
For all the strident, vocal support of his ex-teammates the Langer story is as much about what people haven’t said as what they have.
Even with the rich waves of Ashes euphoria sweeping over him after a Test win Pat Cummins fell silent when asked about Langer earlier in the summer.
While he changed his tune and later praised him, Cummins went nowhere near uttering the magic sentence “so I can’t see any reason why he shouldn’t get another deal.’’
There was none of that as rumours swirled that players felt Langer had done his job restoring a moral compass after the Sandpapergate fiasco and it was time for a softer touch.
Cummins is a fine fellow doing a good job as Australian captain and has a way of gliding through and diffusing controversial moments with the graceful ease that is the sign of a polished leader.
But this is by far his biggest and potentially divisive call as Test skipper. His opinion matters.
If he supports Langer the coach will be rubber stamped in a heartbeat. If he raises his bat and lets the board handle it Langer will be rehired as well.
But if he takes strong objection to Langer’s appointment things get very tricky indeed.
The lid on Langer’s saucepan reportedly bobbled up under the hot steam beneath it when he met with Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley and high performance manager Ben Oliver last Friday.
This issue has been allowed to fester for too long. You can understand Langer’s rising anxiety levels.
Some players felt that when news broke about a player revolt last year over Langer – and it was a real and disturbing – the players were unofficially given a nudge and a wink from Cricket Australia that Langer would see out his contract with the World T20 and the Ashes and then be moved on.
But Australia lost just one match all summer, there have been administrative changes since then.
His stocks rose but some of the old scars never really healed, leaving the board with their most challenging call for many years.
AUSTRALIA COACH LANGER COULD BE OUT OF JOB BY FRIDAY
Australian men may still be feeling the warm glow of an Ashes and T20 World victory but coach Justin Langer could be out of a job by Friday night.
If that happens assistant Andrew McDonald will then be the man most likely to lead the team to Pakistan at month’s end.
Langer’s fate will be decided at what will be one of the most important board meetings in Cricket Australia’s recent history.
It is unlikely he would be offered a four year deal to mirror the first with talk of a two-year extension, but there is no certainty he will be offered any new deal.
The board will hear a presentation from manager of teams Ben Oliver on Langer’s future, it will also be presented with a list of five candidates short-listed to take over the role of chair which was vacated by Earl Eddings on the eve of the last AGM.
The Australian revealed recently that Tony Shepherd, John McMurtrie, John Gillam and director Lachie Henderson were on the short list.
It can be further revealed that a fifth candidate, University of Queensland chancellor Peter Varghese is also on the list.
The fraught future of the Australian head coaching position will presumably take precedent at the meeting.
Langer is in an invidious position and one that is more complicated than meets the eye.
A beloved character who devotes himself to the game, he is living in exile from his family in Perth and has to serve two weeks quarantine when the borders open up. If he retains his job he will have a few days with his wife and daughters before the side leaves for a Test and white ball series in Pakistan around the 23rd.
Final details of quarantines and host venues are yet to be signed off on the tour nor has the role of coach.
If Langer’s contract is not extended he will not lead the team to Pakistan, but McDonald has been taking a more active role in day to day coaching in recent months and the players are confident he can do the role.
Oliver and chief executive Nick Hockley met individually with Aaron Finch in Melbourne, Pat Cummins in Sydney and then Langer on Friday before the BBL final in Melbourne.
The two Australian captains had expressed their dissatisfaction with the coach’s style in a meeting with Hockley and former chair Earl Eddings in August. Cummins was vice-captain at that point and Tim Pain
e was part of the meeting in which grievances about his coaching style were aired.
Eddings defended Langer and the players were told to speak to the coach who acknowledged their concerns and took a more hands off role.
There’s broad support outside the team for Langer who was charged initially with rescuing Australian men’s cricket after the disaster of the sandpaper scandal and then asked to deliver results.
The fact he has accepted a back seat role when that was requested of him more recently makes it difficult to understand what more he can do, however the relationship between the coach and captains is critical.
It is hard to see Langer being offered another four year term and a two-year extension could be a compromise acceptable to him and the organisation. Where the playing group stands is difficult to establish but it can be safely assumed they want change.
Sensitivities around the issue were highlighted when Cricket Australia denied elements of a story published by Fox Cricket about the Friday meeting between Langer, Hockley and Oliver.
“We reject outright the assertion that the
meeting was fiery or heated and that Justin was asked to reapply for his job,” it said.
“Justin has always been contracted as Head Coach through to the middle of this year and we have consistently maintained that discussions around the future of the role would commence following the conclusion of the men’s Ashes Series.
“Friday’s meeting was the first time that we had the opportunity to meet together in person, reflect on the team’s success and discuss the road ahead.
“We will continue with this process and make an announcement once it is complete.”
Fox Sports stood by their story which contained a lot of inside detail from the meeting between the three.
Richard Freudenstein is acting chair of the board since Eddings departure and will lead Friday’s meeting. At the time of his appointment Cricket Australia said it hoped to have a replacement before the end of the year.
That process hit a snag when the states rejected the suggestion that sitting director Henderson assume the role and insisted that the “rigorous process” promised be adhered to and more candidates were approached around Christmas.
Shepherd has a gold plated sport, politics and business background, McMurtrie is still connected with the Adelaide club he played first grade for and has just retired from a very successful international business career leaving him with time to devote to the role. Henderson and Gillam also have excellent cricket and business pedigrees.
Varghese was a public servant for over three decades who served as secretary of DFAT and delivered a strategic paper for the Abbott government in 2018 setting out the blueprint to transform Australia’s economic relationship with India.
How CA v Langer meeting was reported
- Robert Craddock
Justin Langer’s future as Australian cricket coach is hanging by a thread after a fallout over the length of his new deal.
News Corp disclosed last Friday the key to Langer getting an extension to his four-year deal which ends in June would be accepting a contract which was less than half as long.
But Fox Sports has revealed the coach has taken umbrage at the suggestion of a shorter term deal in a meeting with CA chief executive Nick Hockley and high performance manager Ben Oliver last Friday.
It has also been reported Langer was angry at the suggestion he should have to reapply for his job.
The timing of the suggested job proposal could not have been more ironic given only hours later Langer was inducted into Cricket Australia’s Hall of Fame and lauded for his achievements as Australian coach as well as a player.
The Cricket Australia board is reported to be in a state of uncertainty over Langer’s reappointment.
On one hand it has Langer’s former teammates Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist calling for him to get a new deal on the grounds that he won the World T20 and Ashes series and has done all that was asked of him.
But the Board is also aware that tension remains in the group following the fallout between Langer and the players last year when they felt he was too volatile for their best interests.
The wounds have been bandaged and kept well away from public view but they are yet to fully heal.
Langer, by design, has kept a low profile this summer and has been heard of far less than in previous seasons.
After crisis talks with players last year it was decided he should delegate more to his assistant coaches and he has done that with considerable success.
His critics, perhaps harshly, have suggested his absence from the front line has been a key to the success.
Pat Cummins is looming as a key voice in discussions for this is the biggest call of his captaincy career.
While technically it is the CA’s board decision they will listen closely to the captain’s call and if Cummins does not support Langer his goose may be cooked.
While Langer may be aggrieved at a shorter term deal Australia does have a packed program in which the next 18 months will squeeze in just about every contest it cares deeply about – Test series against England and India plus a World T 20 others Test rubbers against Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
If Langer is not reappointed Trevor Bayliss, the experienced former NSW batsman and England coach, heads a small field of options.
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Originally published as Justin Langer knocked back bonus in recognition that others were doing it tough
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