Former Australian coach Justin Langer has blasted some of his former players as "cowards". In a shocking turn of events, the 52-year-old has made the claim after reports in Australia suggested unnamed players were unhappy with his leadership.
After four years at the helm, Langer resigned in February of this year despite being offered a six-month contract extension. This was all the more surprising given he had led the side to their maiden T20 World Cup victory in 2021 and a convincing 4-0 Ashes win over England.
But reports at the time suggested there was unhappiness with Langer's leadership style, something he claims nobody said to him directly. "Everyone was being nice to my face," the former opening batsmen told News Corp.
"But I was reading about this stuff and half of it, I swear to God and on my kids' lives, 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'.
"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."
Speaking to the Back Chat podcast, Langer praised former Test captain Tim Paine 's feedback but claimed others, including Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch, should have been up front earlier.
"I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, 'This might be brutally honest'," Langer recalled. "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. People say that I'm very intense, but they're mistaking intensity with honesty."
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley responded by saying he wanted to "correct inaccuracies" in Langer's account.
"I am disappointed by Justin's comments unfairly criticising some of our players," Hockley said. "Regular formal and informal opportunities to provide and receive feedback took place throughout his tenure, which is consistent with a high-performance environment. Following a comprehensive process, Justin was offered a short-term contract extension, which he rejected." Back in June, Langer admitted he could potentially walk away from cricket following his resignation nine months ago.
"I wasn't happy the way it all ended, but I'm really proud of what we achieved. So I just wonder now whether it's time for a new chapter and doing something else, because I love the game of cricket but I've been doing it [for a long time] ... I'm excited to see what opportunities come up next."
