Ashes 2021-22: Latest news out of the Australian camp during the Adelaide Test match
Justin Langer is on the crest of a wave having suddenly found the special ingredients to sustained coaching success - and with it comes something he could only dream about three months ago.
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Justin Langer will ask Cricket Australia for a fresh contract after this summer with an eye to leading next year’s Test tours of the subcontinent, the Twenty20 World Cup title defence at home and beyond.
Langer, 51, has enjoyed the greatest three months of his coaching career and only needs a draw in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG to close the calendar year with the Ashes urn safely retained for the second time under his watch.
Langer came under intense scrutiny after last summer’s 2-1 Border-Gavaskar series loss to India at home as player feedback led to “confronting” conversations.
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But Langer’s popularity has been on the rise ever since empowering his assistant coaches to spend more one-on-one time working with players at the T20 World Cup, where Langer took a backseat compared with previous campaigns.
Suddenly, Langer appears to have unlocked the special ingredients as his team prepares to put its foot to England’s throat despite off-field turmoils that have seen Australia deploy three different captains in its past three Tests.
Langer said he never even entertained the prospect of walking off into the sunset after this summer’s dual missions were completed — winning the T20 World Cup and winning the Ashes series, which requires one more victory from the remaining three Tests.
“I’ve never thought differently, to be honest,” Langer said when asked about his future. “I’ve been consistent with what I’ve said on that for the last four years.
“I love my job and the boys are playing well. It’s a great team to be involved in, so nothing’s changed from my point of view.”
When asked whether he wanted to keep charge of Tests, ODIs and T20s, Langer responded: “Yes”.
At the World Cup senior assistant coach Andrew McDonald took the lead on strategy and mentored the fast bowlers while Michael Di Venuto (batting), Jeff Vaughan (fielding) and Sridharan Sriram (spin bowling) also had louder voices than on previous tours.
White-ball captain Aaron Finch said: “JL took all the advice onboard from the players” after returning home with Australia’s first T20 trophy.
“No doubt it was really tough, it was confronting — and that goes both ways,” Finch said.
“You have some really honest conversations, which aren’t always the easiest ones to have.
“But he took all that onboard and probably handed the reins over a little bit more to the playing group and the assistant coaches in their various areas.”
The Aussies have not spoken about inflicting a 5-0 Ashes whitewash on England for the third time this century.
“I know how quickly Test cricket can turnaround, I know how quickly things can change and everyone in the squad knows that,” Langer said.
“The mission was to win the Ashes in Australia, we’ve won two Test matches, we’ve got one to go. Hopefully that happens this Test match.”
But the goal will be to win every Test match, given every victory comes with valuable points for the World Test Championship.
Langer took over when Australian cricket was on its knees after the 2018 sandpaper scandal in South Africa.
He was given a four-year contract, which took in two Ashes series, two home summers against India and ODI and T20 World Cups, and that deal expires in June next year.
But the key for Langer was restoring respect for a badly broken team, which Cricket Australia is satisfied has been achieved.
Langer’s contract call: How do you sack a WC, Ashes winner?
-Robert Craddock
A few months ago Justin Langer was a cornered coach who couldn’t win. Soon he should be in a position where he cannot lose.
It’s not just the players who had everything on the line in the Ashes. It was the coach as well.
If Australia take their predicted course to win the Ashes, Langer will have a World Cup win and an Ashes triumph as his most recent credentials when his four-year contract ends in the new year.
This means he will either get a new deal or retire with the dignity that comes with a winning end to his tenure.
Every positive step by Australia this summer gives him extra bargaining power. It’s not quite his call whether he continues or not. But it’s getting close.
The next move will be fascinating.
Without shouting it from the rooftops, Langer has indicated his leaning towards extending his contract.
Australia is making no promises, but how do you sack a man who has just delivered a World Cup and the Ashes?
The one likely outcome is that if Langer does get reappointed the role will change and another coach such as Andrew McDonald would be appointed to take over one or both national white ball teams while Langer coaches the Test team..
To win both would change everything.
Langer, to his credit, has taken a step back in a bid to move forward.
Challenged by claims he needed to delegate more authority to his assistant coaches, Langer has given more power to his underlings, which would not have been easy given he is such a hands-on coach.
Players have taken more control as well. Langer’s role has been like the boat captain guiding the vessel downstream by gently tilting it rather than spinning it around and trying to surge against the tide.
Modern sports coaches, particularly in cricket where coaches are not deeply entrenched in the game’s folklore, just cannot survive doing that any more.
Langer’s public appearances are also less than what they were, never a bad move for a coach under pressure.
When Langer was under siege from a player uprising mid-way through the year, there were days when it seemed he would be lucky to reach the World Cup, never mind the Ashes. To win both would change everything.
Langer, to his credit, has taken a step back in a bid to move forward.
Challenged by claims he needed to delegate more authority to his assistant coaches, Langer has given more power to his assistants, McDonald and Michael Di Venuto, which would not have been easy given he is such a hands-on coach.
But the team’s slickness at the moment is a credit to the coaching staff, right down to the fact that while England dropped nine catches on the first six days of the series, Australia had not dropped one.
Players have taken more control as well. Langer’s role has been like the boat captain guiding the vessel downstream by gently tilting it rather than spinning it around and trying to surge against the tide.
Modern sports coaches, particularly in cricket where coaches are not deeply entrenched in the game’s folklore, just cannot survive doing that any more.
Langer’s public appearances are also less than what they were, never a bad move for a coach under pressure.
No team, when their ship is sailing well, has ever complained that their coach was becoming too invisible and not soaking up enough of the plaudits.
Langer’s four-year ride has been a volatile one with some notable successes and conspicuous failures.
Recruited to restore a moral fibre to Australian cricket after the sandpapergate scandal, he helped to improve behavioral standards in an era when Australia were juggling the need the behave well with the obvious priority to win Test matches.
It’s a delicate balance.
The big moments have been significant. Retaining the Ashes in England in 2019 – the first time since 2001 - was a grand achievement.
Winning the World T20 this year was unexpected and special. Making the semi-finals of the last 50-over World Cup was a pass mark.
Winning this Ashes series would be an expected triumph but still a significant one.
The biggest black mark on Langer’s record was losing last year’s “unlosable’’ home series against India 2-1 after being one-up in Adelaide by bowling India out for 36.
That made it two series losses to India in Australia in three summers but the first was excusable because Steve Smith and David Warner were missing after sandpapergate.
It’s been a bumpy ride but if Australia wins the Ashes Langer’s stocks will be solid despite all the turmoil which preceded the series.
A new king? Carey knock draws huge praise
-Andrew Capel
Hometown hero Alex Carey strolled to the batting crease at 4.15pm on Friday to raucous applause from the Adelaide Oval crowd.
When he departed just under three hours later, Carey had scored his maiden Test match fifty - in his first home Test innings in just his second Test - and looked as accomplished as any Australian batter in its formidable total of 9-473 declared against England.
Former Australian international fast bowler Dirk Nannes described wicketkeeper Carey’s innings of 51 off 107 balls batting at No. 7 as “exceptional’’.
Ex-England Test paceman Steve Finn said the South Australian was arguably the pick of the Aussie batters.
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“He looked more fluent than any of those that batted before him, including David Warner (who made 95), Marnus Labuschagne (103) and Steve Smith (93),’’ Finn told ABC radio.
“He showed he was able to drive the ball well in this game, which not many of the others could.’’
After making his long-awaited Test debut at age 30 in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba last week, as the replacement for former captain Tim Paine, Carey took eight catches behind the stumps, breaking the previous Test record on debut of seven.
He received rave reviews for his classy display but he made just 12 and nine in his two innings.
In the second innings, left-hander Carey bravely put his hand up to open for an injured Warner (ribs) and looked accomplished against the new ball before falling with just four runs needed for victory.
He took his next opportunity on Friday.
Coming to the crease at 5-294 following the dismissals of Redbacks teammate Travis Head (18), and a struggling Cameron Green (2) within an over, Carey teamed with Smith to steady the ship.
After 45 one-day and 38 T20 internationals for Australia, he finally made his mark with the bat at Test level, sharing in a 91-run sixth-wicket stand with Smith before the captain was out leg before to Jimmy Anderson.
Carey, who hit five boundaries, including a couple of glorious drives, brought up his maiden Test fifty the ball after Smith was dismissed with a push to the leg side.
He was caught at cover by Haseeb Hameed soon after to a delivery from Anderson that popped off the wicket.
But the player that former SA and Australian Test batsman Greg Blewett has long called for to play Test cricket, saying he is “the closest thing I’ve seen to Adam Gilchrist’’, had taken another important step towards being Australia’s next long-term wicketkeeper.
Crash: Cricket nuffy Marnus gets off on fruitless bodyline tactics
- Robert Craddock
Ben Stokes is not Harold Larwood and Marnus Labuschagne is not Don Bradman but there is a vivid link between the bodyline tactics uncorked against both men by England nine decades apart.
In both cases, the tactics were born out of pure desperation because nothing else was working.
You bowl a tight line against Labuschagne outside off stump and he lets you go.
You go wider on the crease and try and angle balls in and seam them away and even when you get it right he plays the line of the ball and misses it completely.
So you get Stokes to bounce him and hit him in the stomach, on the arms and hands and even as you celebrate the fact you are slowing him down, deep down you know it’s shallow comfort because you accept he is such a cricket nuffy he’s actually getting off on the challenge.
Just as Larwood’s tactics were a compliment to Bradman, so was Stokes’ tactic a nod to Labuschagne’s vast skill set because, as Mike Hussey pointed out on Fox Cricket, there is really only a couple of ways a bouncer barrage can get you out – so it is actually a low percentage play.
It’s true Labuschagne could and probably should have been out four times in his first Ashes century before he was lbw to Ollie Robinson when he was clearly mentally exhausted after a rugged day at the crease.
But beneath the good fortune lies the inescapable truth that no-one has truly cracked the Marnus code.
There’s no proven Plan A to cricket’s most improved batsman who has roared to 2000 Test runs quicker than everyone except Bradman and Hussey.
If you change tactics, he changes as well for he is a chameleon of the crease.
Friday’s century was almost 100 balls slower than his previously slowest Test century. He can play the tortoise and the hare.
Last year India tried bowling straight to him and he adjusted his stance and his game and crafted out 426 runs at 53.
This year England have tried a multitude of plans against him and none have struck gold.
None of this has surprised his Queensland Bulls teammate Jimmy Peirson who has been playing with Labuschagne since he was 12 and used to catch the same bus to school.
He knows well that beneath the playful puppy demeanour lies a calculating mind.
“Marnus can play the goofball but he is also the greatest problem solver I have seen in the game,’’ Peirson said.
“He is so good he can technically adjust on the day. Cricketers can be funny like that. If we have success playing a certain way we can be very reluctant to change.
“Not Marnus. He is not afraid to make himself occasionally look bad or uncomfortable. He does whatever he has to do and is the best forward thinker I have played with.
“I saw the way he moved back away from some of those short balls and cut them over slips. He plans for things like that.’’
England might think they are due for some good luck against Labuschagne. The problem is by the time they get it, the game and series may be gone.
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