Justin Langer’s coaching future helped by Hall of Fame honour

As if winning a World Cup and The Ashes wasn’t enough ammunition, now Cricket Australia are seriously running out of excuses not to reappoint Justin Langer, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

With a World Cup and Ashes in his keeping, Justin Langer suddenly has a stronger resume.

Good luck sacking Justin Langer now.

Langer’s elevation into Australian cricket’s Hall of Fame enhances his chances of staying on as national coach.

Technically it shouldn’t. But it just does. The two calls were and will be made by different committees yet Langer’s delicate future is one of sport’s most unusual stories and one shaped by a mysterious, hard-to-read vibe which has suddenly swung in his favour.

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How embarrassing would it be for Australian cricket to admit Langer into the Hall of Fame at the Australian cricket awards on Saturday night then sack him as national coach next week?

No one knows this more than Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley because he is the only person connected with both calls.

Justin Langer was all smiles at the MCG after receiving his award as a new member of Australian cricket’s Hall of Fame. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images

Hockley was on the committee which chose Langer, with Australian women’s pioneer Raelee Thompson, in the Hall of Fame. And he will also be present at a CA meeting next week where the board will resolve Langer’s future.

You can imagine it would be part of Hockley’s duty to ring Langer this week and say something like, “Justin feel proud of this award … we cherish all you have done for Australian cricket.’’

Imagine if next week he had to ring Langer and say “look, it’s me again … I know you’ve just won the Ashes and the World Cup and lost just one game all summer but we just don’t believe you’re up to it … you’re fired.’’

Big call.

Significantly, although Langer is primarily being rewarded as a player, Hockley stated in the press release his work as national coach was also part of the “tremendous impact’’ he had made on Australian cricket.

It will be hard to punt Justin Langer after a successful summer in charge of the Australian team. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

This would leave Hockley, if Langer is sacked by the board next week, to say something like “I know I said last week your coaching has made a tremendous impact but unfortunately it wasn’t tremendous enough.’’

It shouldn’t come to that.

Langer deserves his Hall of Fame selection for his career was a monument to hard work and eternal scrap.

Earlier today, we caught up with Justin Langer as he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame alongside some of the biggest names in the game.

The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is located in the @ausportsmuseum at Gate 3 of the MCG. pic.twitter.com/IjDxF01NFM

— Melbourne Cricket Ground (@MCG) January 27, 2022

He has had to fight for everything he had achieved. After showing immense courage on his Test debut to make a gritty being struck on the helmet, he played only eight Tests in his first six years before eventually playing 105 five-dayers.

Once when the great Glenn McGrath was returning from injury, he had a rare bad game and poured his heart out to Langer about self-doubts which were suddenly creeping into his game.

“I must admit I loved listening to it,’’ Langer said. “Pigeon admitting that for the first time ever he was doubting himself. It made me feel a lot better because I go through that every week.’’

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley is in an awkward position when it comes to deciding Justin Langer’s future. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

LANGER-CA STAND-OFF TAKES DRAMATIC TURN

Justin Langer’s chances of continuing as Aussie coach are rising and could hinge on whether he would consider a short-term deal.

Langer seemed little or no chance of being reappointed following a player revolt last year but is now rated at least a 50-50 chance of winning a new contract after Australia won the World T20 and the Ashes.

The decision will be debated at a Cricket Australia board meeting next week and could still go either way given the fact that there is understood to be some senior players who would prefer a fresh voice.

As Langer’s prospects rise, so has the job become a more thorny proposition for any potential replacement.

With a World Cup and Ashes in his keeping, Justin Langer suddenly has a stronger resume.

Coaches often enjoy taking over teams where there is an obvious upside in their performance but Australia lost just one game all summer - to England in the World T20 – so the bar is high and the short term challenges (three Asian tours) immense.

Also, the case for Langer’s reappointment has been strongly endorsed by big and well-respected voices such as Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and – in a rare and emotional social media post — Steve Waugh.

While this does not mean a new coach would be unjustly scrutinised in the position, the strong feeling among former greats that Langer should be reappointed must put some pressure on the new man if Langer is axed.

Langer’s four-year contract ends in June and the issue of his reappointment has become the biggest matter facing Australian cricket in the wake of their 4-0 drubbing of England.

The only certainty is that Langer will not be offered a contract as long as his last one when he had the whip hand in negotiations with Cricket Australia who were desperate for a cultural clean-up after Sandpapergate.

Langer could be offered the job on a short-term contract.

The sensible conclusion would be for Langer to be offered an extension of just over a year and that should be the end of his term.

That would normally be considered a short deal but it includes a massive amount of high pressure cricket, including the off-season Test tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the home T20 World Cup in October, domestic Test series against West Indies and South Africa plus hugely important tours of India and England next year.

A 15-month contract extension would include all these tours.

Langer’s reappointment is complicated by the fact, as revealed by News Corp, that his well-respected deputy Andrew McDonald does not want the job.

That’s significant because the players would have accepted his appointment without challenge.

That leaves Trevor Bayliss as the standout option in a very shallow pool unless they talked Jason Gillespie, whose Adelaide Strikers team have hit a sudden form surge, out of giving away his domestic jobs.