Justin Langer in damage control after Cameron Bancroft opens old wounds
David Warner has been approached by a large number of publishers to share his side of the infamous sandpaper scandal, but will it ever happen?
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Justin Langer will be reacquainted with one of his early challenges as Australian coach when he assumes the role of peacekeeper on the white-ball tour of the West Indies in July.
After being challenged about his relationships with the players, Langer must now ensure his troops can get on with each other and there is no lingering fallout from Cameron Bancroft’s ball-tampering allegations against the Australian bowlers.
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The four bowlers involved in the infamous 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa – Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc – issued a strongly worded statement denying any prior knowledge of Bancroft using sandpaper on the cricket ball during that game.
Bancroft, who intimated in an interview with the English Guardian newspaper the bowlers did know about the plan, will not be in the West Indies.
But David Warner and Steve Smith, both banned for a year after the scandal, are part of an extended squad for the tour, as are all of the bowlers except Lyon.
Australia must attempt to ensure there is no festering tension as the countdown begins for next season’s Ashes summer, so the importance of the Windies tour stretches far beyond the match play.
Warner continues to remain silent about who knew what about the scandal but his manager James Erskine this week claimed that a “blind, black labrador’’ would accept more people knew than the trio who were banned.
Erskine said earlier this week his “guesstimate’’ was that between 25 and 40 people knew.
Warner is known to have a large number of publishers approach him about writing a book about the scandal but so far has declined all interest.
Warner and Smith were banned from Langer’s first home summer but were welcomed back into the team environment during a short stopover in the UAE en route to their respective Indian Premier League franchises.
Their reintegration process was handled with great sensitivity and was overseen by Harvard-educated leadership consultant Tim Ford.
After Australia’s Test series loss against India last summer there were rumours that Langer’s intensity was causing unrest among the players but it appears certain he will coach Australia in the Ashes.
English captain Michael Vaughan has written that the ball-tampering affair has given England cracks to exploit in the Ashes.
The challenge for Langer and his coaching staff is to ensure the plaster is out and the gaps are filled on the West Indian tour so Australia has a tight unit for the Ashes.
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