Justin Langer coaching future: Why Cricket Australia could split coaching roles
With squads all over the place in 2022, Australia are contemplating something they have flirted with in the past but never gone all-in for with their coaching structure.
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Eight World Cups in the next decade and the pandemic making time spent on the road considerably more draining could trigger Cricket Australia’s decision to split its coaching roles next year as question marks hover over Justin Langer’s future.
Langer last week declared he wanted to continue coaching in all three formats, but CA boss Nick Hockley and captain Pat Cummins have since declined to endorse the 51-year-old’s bid for a fresh deal when his four-year term expires mid-2022.
Australia’s T20 title defence begins at home next October on the back of a Test series in Sri Lanka. Clashing tours of Pakistan and New Zealand in March will force chairman of selectors George Bailey to choose two squads for those series, where two head coaches will be required.
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Hockley said a decision on splitting the roles wouldn’t be made until a post-Ashes review when Langer’s desire to coach on is also decided.
But on Thursday Bailey gave the strongest hint yet that a red-ball and white-ball coach could be the path forward.
“I think that’s always something that could be looked at,” Bailey said.
“I think depending on who the coach is, who the captain is, what your sort of mix is in terms of how many players go across formats, all those things – which are constantly changing – they probably give you a different answer as to where you might go with that.
“How busy the schedules are, what World Cups are coming up. All of those things provide different challenges.”
Australia has flirted with the idea before but never gone all-in on dual coaches, although Langer’s senior assistant Andrew McDonald did lead an ODI series in India (2020) and a T20 series in New Zealand (2021) due to scheduled clashes with Tests.
McDonald also took the lead on strategy at the recent T20 World Cup triumph and is a short-form guru, leading a no-frills Melbourne Renegades line-up to Big Bash glory three years ago.
He also held positions at IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and The Hundred franchise Birmingham Phoenix however did not end up coaching those teams this year.
Langer coached Australia in a T20 series while he was still at Western Australia, while predecessor Darren Lehmann was pushing for Ricky Ponting to manage the white-ball teams before the sandpaper scandal cost him his job.
England’s 2019 World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss is back in Australia’s set-up at Sydney Thunder while Sixers coach Greg Shipperd is regarded as one of the sharpest T20 minds in the world.
“This level of educating (BBL) players really suits my style,” Shipperd told News Corp recently. “Once you get to the international level often the product is really close to being finished.
“You might consider me like a primary school teacher. I’m happy in that space, albeit I’ve got plenty of ideas that I fire off from time to time to some of the people that do sit at levels above. (But) who knows what the future brings?”
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Originally published as Justin Langer coaching future: Why Cricket Australia could split coaching roles
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