Steve Waugh says Cricket Australia (CA) provided "no clarity" in its explanation of why it only offered Justin Langer a short-term contract extension as men's head coach.
Waugh's comments followed CA chief executive Nick Hockley's media conference on Saturday, in which he defended the decision to offer Langer a six-month contract extension, saying he did not meet the team's "needs going forward".
Langer announced his resignation on Saturday morning, having rejected CA's offer.
Hockley said his organisation made the offer of a short-term extension as part of what it described as a period of "transition", a term he regularly used throughout his media conference.
Waugh took to Instagram and posted a photo of a handwritten note containing words such as "transition" and "evolve".
The former Test captain wrote in his post he did not understand the reasons CA cited as to why Langer was not in its long-term plans.
"Plenty of Buzz words but no clarity as to why Justin Langer is no longer deemed worthy of the coaching role," Waugh wrote.
"Not sure how the team evolves and transitions form being loved by the public and being ranked number one is test cricket and the World Champions in T20."
John Buchanan, who coached Langer as a player in the national team, said Hockley had sent out mixed signals when explaining CA's decision-making.
"Nick Hockley basically outlined everything Justin did well, and then basically said he is unable to help the team evolve," he said.
"There seemed to be a heck of a lot of bureaucratic gobbledegook in that."
CA had already been strongly criticised by former Australian Test players such as Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden and Mitchell Johnson, who highlighted the success the national team had enjoyed under Langer since he became head coach in 2018 in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
Australia retained the Ashes in 2019 and defeated England 4-0 in the recent series on home soil, while it also won the T20 World Cup late last year.
Hockley said CA was "disappointed" by Langer's decision, as it wanted him to coach Australia in its defence of its T20 World Cup championship in October and November.
But he said Langer was not in CA's long-term plans as head coach.
"We were pretty clear with Justin that it was for a period of transition," Hockley said.
"We want to be clear and respectful to him. Justin has done a fantastic job.
"When we sat down and looked at the needs of the team going forward, we thought that the team has evolved.
Hockley confirmed Test captain Pat Cummins and white-ball skipper Aaron Finch were consulted as part of the evaluation of Langer's coaching tenure.
Cummins failed to endorse Langer as head coach in media appearances this week.
"Over the course of the summer — after some very difficult discussions — everyone has really stepped up," Hockley said.
"We've got a much clearer view of how people are stepping up and taking accountability for their own roles and responsibilities.
"People are stepping up and taking accountability for their own roles and responsibilities, and on that basis — and I spoke to the (national) selectors and more broadly across the staff — we felt that the time was now to start a process of transition."
A 'shared leadership model'
Hockley said the men's team had "evolved" during Langer's tenure to the point CA felt a fresh approach was needed in the coming years.
He said this was highlighted in its recent evaluation of Langer and the team's "future needs".
Hockley said the leadership shown by the national selection panel and assistant coaches meant CA wanted responsibilities to be shared.
He said CA wanted to adopt a "sustainable model".
"We are now evolving to the next phase of a more shared leadership model," Hockley said.
"Justin's contract was always for a four-year period. If we think about the journey when Justin Langer started, he deserves the most enormous amount of credit for where he has brought the team from and to.
Andrew McDonald has been appointed as interim head coach.
Hockley said CA would look to appoint a permanent replacement for Langer, while continuing "to take a very project-focused approach".
Western Australian Cricket Association chief executive Christina Matthews said she was upset with CA's treatment of Langer.
"My difficulty is with how Justin has been treated as a person and I don't think he has been treated with any sort of respect, kindness or compassion," she said.
