Justin Langer knows bringing Steve Smith and David Warner back into Aussie fold will take time
Coach Justin Langer admits the next step in repairing the ‘dysfunctional family’ that is Aussie cricket will be to get Steve Smith and David Warner back in the same room again.
Justin Langer admits the next step in repairing the “dysfunctional family” that is Australian cricket will be to get Steve Smith and David Warner back in the same room again.
The Aussie coach says there has been no deliberate plan to keep the former captain and vice-captain apart, but one conspicuous aspect of their return to face the Test quicks this week in Sydney was that they padded up on different days.
Smith and Warner shared coffee together in Canada last July and recently shook hands as they battled it out against each other in a grade match at Coogee Oval in Sydney.
But while both have been welcomed back into the Australian fold by Langer and have trained extensively with NSW in the past month, they’re yet to complete a session together.
Warner faced up against Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood two hours before Sunday’s Twenty20 at the SCG, and then Smith was invited in to bat against the full attack including Mitchell Starc on Tuesday.
Langer met Smith for breakfast on Tuesday and Warner in the afternoon as he continues “the process” of getting them back into the Australian team when their bans expire at the end of March.
If Smith and Warner are to come back for next year’s World Cup, they will instantly reclaim their positions as the two key batsmen in the team.
Langer knows his priority must be to recapture the “family” atmosphere he shared with the likes of Matt Hayden, Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting during his career.
“Definitely, I think we have all got to get together,” said Langer, who was on Wednesday night inducted as the first ever dual honoree of the Bradman Foundation, alongside great mate Hayden, at a Gala dinner at the SCG.
“There’s going to be a process for the boys to come back and it is really important we start working on that process from now. We can’t get to the point and just say ‘right they’re back’. It’s not fair on them, it’s not fair on the team, it’s not fair on everyone.
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“I didn’t deliberately catch up with them separately. I caught up with Davey in Brisbane before we went to the UAE (and again on Tuesday afternoon) because I wanted to see him face-to-face. It’s one thing exchanging text messages and emails, you have to talk face-to-face. We had a great catch up.
“(Tuesday) was the first time I’d seen Steven. I wanted it to be between us because there’s lots to be spoken about and then over time we’ll bring the brotherhood together and everything will be OK.
“It was great.
“They’ve been through a tough 12 months, they’ve been penalised for making a really big mistake, no doubt about that, but we’ve got to get them into the group and every opportunity we get is a positive one.”
Langer admits there are similarities between the Australian job and what he encountered when he first took over Western Australian cricket.
At that time, WA had a party culture problem and Langer whipped them into shape.
Australia’s problems are different but Langer says, he feels prepared for the job.
Together.
“When I first took over Western Australian cricket it was like a dysfunctional family and what I meant by that then the media hated the team, the team hated them back, club cricket hated the WACA, the WACA hated them back, the past players hated the WACA, the WACA hated them back,” Langer said.
“There was a lot of angst. I’m probably feeling that a bit now in Australian cricket. There’s a lot of angst and for someone who is passionate about Australian cricket and now the coach — I like harmony. I like family.”
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