Given that Justin Langer and Cricket Australia will be working together in the media this summer, Ricky Ponting may be essential in resolving the conflict.
Having worked together for many years as Australian teammates, Ponting and Langer developed a close relationship that may have an impact in the coming days.
An incendiary interview Langer delivered about his unflattering resignation as a coach might set off a firestorm as Australia enters the first Test on Wednesday.
For leaking information about him to the media during his tenure, Langer called out players in the interview that News Corp published, branding them “cowards.”
Since the Test summer begins in Langer’s home state, 52, he is now slated to take center stage in Channel 7’s coverage of the event, which could help him win more fans.
Ponting will be next to him and may serve as the situation’s needed source of composure
The two have been compared to “brothers,” according to Ponting, and Langer hired his former captain to serve as his assistant during the 2019 World Cup. Langer apparently had fewer mood fluctuations while working with Ponting as his assistant. These mood changes caused Langer to lose favor with several players.
One active player told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that “Punter kept JL extremely even.” According to the publication, there is a widespread opinion that any tension with current players might be reduced thanks to the accord between Ponting and Langer.
Brad Haddin, who is unhappy about how long the drama surrounding Langer’s departure has been allowed to continue, was also a member of the 2019 coaching group.
Haddin told Triple M, “This is just a pretty nasty thing. “This has been going on for more than a year, and it has gotten worse recently. It reaches a new level as a result. Evidently, he lost the changing room at some point when he was in office. Whatever viewpoint you may have on that, the fact is that it happened.
“But to have this still ongoing after 10 months, this is a guy who has played 100 Tests for Australia, and he has been a very successful coach,” the speaker said. Yes, things got messy at the end, and it appears that much more is still to come.
“I don’t know what they want the end result to be or where they go from there. We all love the game, and since this hasn’t been happening for a few weeks, it’s time to figure things out behind closed doors before we play this out in front of everyone. There are certainly a lot of tensions there, and perhaps this will serve as the spark to make them disappear.
Positively, Langer has denied claims that he and other Australian cricket team members are at “war” as a result of his interview.
Ironically, I spoke to Patty on Monday, and we had a lengthy conversation about how the team was doing, how he was doing, and how his family was doing, he said to 7News Perth. And some of this garbage is pure, unadulterated garbage.
“I have so much respect for Patty Cummins; I think he is a fantastic athlete and a wonderful person. Therefore, it would be untrue to assume that Patty and I are at war with one another.
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