Former Australian coach Justin Langer lashes ‘cowards’ in explosive interview

Former coach Justin Langer has savaged the anonymous “cowards” who leaked against him following his unceremonious sacking.

Justin Langer of Australia. Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images

Former coach Justin Langer has savaged Test captain Pat Cummins’ role in his demise, the anonymous “cowards” who leaked against him and the Cricket Australia board for his unceremonious sacking last summer.

In a revealing and insightful interview with CODE Sports published on Wednesday, Langer told how Cummins and white ball skipper Aaron Finch finally gave him “brutal” feedback, long after the whisper campaign against him started.

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“I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, ‘This might be brutally honest.’ I said, ‘Pat, there is nothing brutal about your feedback. What is brutal is I’m hearing it behind my back through the media or through sources.’ No one’s telling me. Tell me,” Langer said.

“Everyone was being nice to my face but I was reading about this stuff and half of it … I could not believe that is what was making the papers.

“A lot of journalists use the word ‘source’. I would say, change that word to ‘coward’. A coward says, not a source. Because what do you mean a source says? They’ve either got an axe to grind with someone and they won’t come and say it to your face, or they’re just leaking stuff for their own agenda.

“I hate that.”

Head coach Justin Langer of Australia celebrates after winning the fifth Ashes Test. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Langer said his biggest regret was his lack of relationship with CA’s board who still sacked him after changing his ways and winning the T20 World Cup and Ashes.

“The hardest thing for me of all of it was: I got the feedback (and) I did something about it. We won the T20 World Cup, we won the Ashes. We were No. 1 in the world. I’ve never enjoyed coaching more and I’ve still got sacked. That’s the hardest thing,” Langer said.

“Because you can’t give someone feedback, do something about it, and then that to happen.

“But I talked to the Cricket Australia board three times in four years. That’s craziness. And that’s the only thing I’d do differently. Because when you know people haven’t got your back, there is no lonelier place in the world. When you do know people have got your back, there’s no more powerful place in the world. And that’s what I would have done differently.”

Pat Cummins of Australia and Justin Langer. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The former opening batsman, who will return to the cricket arena as a TV commentator this summer, said the “killer” for him as coach was the lack of feedback from his senior players.

“People say that I’m very intense, but they’re mistaking intensity with honesty,” Langer said.

“I’ve never said this publicly.

“The hardest thing for me of all of it was: I got the feedback (and) I did something about it.

“We won the T20 World Cup, we won the Ashes.

“We were No. 1 in the world.

“I’ve never enjoyed coaching more and I’ve still got sacked.

“That’s the hardest thing.

“Because you can’t give someone feedback, do something about it, and then that to happen.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON CODE SPORTS