As I write this article, Australian cricket is embroiled in—yet another-crisis. After weeks of speculation over whether his contract would be renewed, and the length of it, national coach, Justin Langer, has turned a short-term offer from Cricket Australia and resigned. The question is: how could Cricket Australia expected him to do anything else?
A new divide
The uncertainty around his future came against a background of rumoured player discontent with Langer’s intensity and methods. Previous rumblings that saw him required to take a step back and re-evaluate his coaching style—which, to his credit, he did. His departure has brought about a fracture in Australian cricket between past players on one side, and the “Establishment” and modern players on the other.
Whether not continuing with Langer was the right decision is perhaps a debatable (though I don’t believe it was the right one). What has raised the ire of many legends of the game, and caused consternation in the public and in the press, is the method of doing so. It has raised further questions about the decision-making process of Cricket Australia, and comes on top of their mishandling of a long list of issues—from Sandpapergate to the Paine scandal.
Spirit of (Australian) Cricket
Even if they had believed that Langer was not the right choice moving forward, he deserved better. Better than to have it hashed out in the press and have to press Cricket Australia for certainty. Even if he hadn’t earned that with his record as coach, having bought World Cup and Ashes victories and steering through perhaps one of the darkest periods in Australian cricket history, what about as someone who had literally devoted his life to the game.
You would be hard pressed to find a better servant of Australian cricket, both as a player who underpinned one of its most successful eras (and along with Lee and Warne, one of the few who could hold his head up high in the swansong of the 2005 Ashes) and as tireless advocate for the sanctity of the Baggy Green and the idea of playing hard but fair.
Show a little respect
Even leaving all that aside, any employee deserves be treated better by their employer and not discarded so cavalierly. But, when you add his coaching record, and his past service to the game, it beggars belief that he could be treated with such a lack of respect. While his future is pretty secure, and no doubt other nations are already circling like vultures, it is hard to imagine the hurt he would be feeling—and how much Australian fans will hate seeing him lead another country to victory, perhaps over us.
It will damage the reputation of Australian cricket, and make it harder to attract a suitable candidate to fill what is one of the plum jobs in world cricket. After all, if Cricket Australia could treat a great of the game like Langer with such disdain what chance does an outsider have? How can their job ever be considered safe? Perhaps it is time to ask some questions about where the real leadership problem lies—if our captain refuses to take responsibility, and the coach is a placeholder, maybe the administrators are the ones who ought to go...
David Goodwin is the former Editor of The Salvation Army’s magazine,War Cry. He is also a cricket tragic, and an unapologetic geek.
David Goodwin archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-goodwin.html