Justin Langer outs Aussie culprit, sends raw text message to players

Justin Langer answered the question on everyone’s lips as a WhatsApp message to his players revealed a major regret over damning claims.

Justin Langer is confronting his criticism head on.

Justin Langer has had a bit to say since a report emerged on the weekend claiming Australian cricket stars were becoming jaded by their coach’s intensity and overbearing management style.

After initially going on the defensive, saying it’s not his job to “tickle their stomachs”, the 50-year-old has shown a willingness to reflect on criticism from within the dressing room — exposed by the Sydney Morning Herald — and suggest he’s looking to learn from the feedback.

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The saga comes at the end of a surprise home series defeat to India, which capped off a draining 2020 that saw players spend countless days in bio-secure bubbles away from their homes and families.

The Herald reports Langer sent a text message to the players’ WhatsApp group expressing his disappointment whoever was responsible for the leak went anonymously to the media rather than confront him directly with their issues, and called on the team to show solidarity and stick together.

Tim Paine and Co. will need to unite with one another and their coach if they’re to topple South Africa in an upcoming Test series, on a tour that is sure to reopen some scars of sandpapergate.

LANGER OUTS AUSSIE CULPRIT

Comically, Langer unintentionally set up a separate storyline that provided the internet with plenty of material when he first responded to allegations about his grumpiness.

“You’re walking on against India, we’re trying to win a Test match and one of our players walks on with a toasted sandwich in his hand,” Langer said.

“I spoke to (the player) about it at length yesterday. I said, ‘How do you reckon it looks, mate?’ Is that not something I should say?”

All cricket fans on social media wanted to know was: Which player was it?

Langer answered that mystery while speaking to cricket journalists Gideon Haigh and Peter Lalor of The Australian on their podcast, Cricket Et Cetera.

“I’m the grumpiest prick in the world because I told Marnus Labuschagne not to take a toasted ham and cheese sandwich (to the dugout) after his 40-minute lunch break,” the coach said.

Case closed.

RELATED: Michael Clarke slams ‘weak’ act in Langer ambush

Langer has ruffled feathers in the dressing room.

GRUMPY LANGER’S BIGGEST GRIPE

Onto more serious matters and — #toastiegate aside — Langer was introspective when addressing the headlines with Haigh and Lalor.

He admitted he’s a serious character who gets grumpy — anyone who watched fly-on-the-wall documentary The Test on Amazon last year can attest to that — but that doesn’t mean his skin is so thick the barbs directed from his inner sanctum didn’t sting.

Langer can handle criticism. You don’t play 105 Test without learning to take some friendly and at times not-so-friendly advice on board. But the way that criticism became public knowledge wounded the former opening batsman.

“The only disappointing thing from the weekend’s reports was there was discussion things were coming from within the camp,” Langer told Cricket Et Cetera.

“You know me, I’m a pretty simple bloke and let’s get this on the record: Yeah I am intense, yeah I am serious, I am.

“Do I get grumpy sometimes? Yeah I get grumpy sometimes. I’m not perfect that’s for sure, but I’m pretty good at some of the things I do and you just don’t like it when you feel people — through managers or players, whatever — I would rather they came straight to me.

“That’s the Australian way as I know it, let’s talk through it, let’s go through it and work things out.”

THE ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ LANGER NEEDS?

Langer has done a fine job rebuilding Australia’s image after being brought in after the ball tampering scandal of 2018. But does his modus operandi as a hard taskmaster — exactly what was required after the cheating controversy — need to evolve after nearly three years in the job?

The coach admits this is a “wake-up call” to consider how he can adapt to the ever-changing demands of international cricket coaching, where multiple formats, touring life, the chopping and changing of players and now, whittling away the hours in bio-secure bubbles, make the job even more of a juggling act than it’s ever been before.

“I’m not going to ignore this, of course, and absolutely it is a wake-up call,” Langer told ESPN Cricinfo. “Whenever I finish this coaching career I hope I’m still calling myself a novice coach … I’ll see this criticism as a great gift in a few weeks or months.

“My greatest mentors in life are the people who told me the truth and were toughest on me, and I’ve always needed that honest feedback. I might not enjoy it at the time, but it is so, so valuable.”