Justin Langer Resigned As Australia’s Head Coach; Mitchell Johnson Said His Treatment Is “Disrespectful And Disappointing”

Justin Langer resigned as the Australian men’s national cricket team’s head coach on Saturday. A number of former Australian cricketers have reacted to his resignation.

However, after a lengthy meeting featuring Cricket Australia officials on Friday, Justin Langer dropped the bomb on Saturday morning by resigning from the post. A number of his former teammates, including the likes of Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson, and Damien Martyn have reacted to the development.

Justin Langer Confirmed His Resignation To Cricket Australia

On Saturday, February 05, he has confirmed his resignation to Cricket Australia after both parties did not come into an agreement regarding his future with the Australian cricket team.

Justin Langer was offered a short-term contract that would have seen the head coach stay on to defend Australia’s T20 World Cup at home in October-November. This happened after Australia won the 2021 T20I World Cup followed by the Ashes 2021/22 with the southpaw at the helm. However, Justin Langer did not accept the offer and made the decision on stepping down from his role.

Mitchell Johnson Said The Treatment Of Justin Langer Is Disrespectful And Disappointing Which Won’t Instill Confidence In Any Of Australia’s Future Coaches

Mitchell Johnson also joined the bandwagon and extended his support towards Justin Langer. The pacer said that the treatment meted out to Justin Langer was disappointing to watch. He further said that this now puts Australian cricket’s future in a dark spot. He began his post in May 2018 after Darren Lehmann stepped down due to the ball-tampering scandal (Sandpaper Gate) in South Africa.

Since then Australia achieved newer heights during his tenure as coach. Retaining the Ashes in England would be the topmost among all as it was Australia’s first Ashes win in England after 18 years. Also, Australia claimed their maiden T20I World Cup title last year in UAE. And to finish it off, he wrapped it up with a thumping 4-0 Ashes win at home.

Johnson wrote on Instagram: “It is disrespectful & very disappointing how a great person in Langer, a great icon of the game has been treated is an absolute mess! It doesn’t instill confidence in any future coach of the Australian cricket team if this is the way of the future.”

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley has revealed that Justin Langer was only offered a six-month contract extension, with no scope for him to continue his role as Australian men’s cricket coach after that. Australia departs for a Test tour of Pakistan in three weeks, with assistant coach Andrew McDonald officially appointed as interim coach. Australia will travel to Pakistan for a series of 3 Tests, 3 ODIs, and one T20I.

Justin Langer’s contract was set to expire in June 2022.  Meanwhile, England also sacked their head coach Chris Silverwood after the Ashes debacle and there are speculations that ECB might approach Justin Langer for the job.