Justin Langer:questions need to asked,his contract expires in the middle of 2022.
In Test cricket,in which Cricket Australia ranks itself most keenly,the loss to India and cancellation of a South Africa tour meant Australia missed the World Championship final this year. And in T20Is,a couple of months out from the first of two World Cups in as many years,Australia has lost series irrespective of whether they have their full side in or not.
Accountability for this run of results,adding up to 15 defeats in the past 21 games,is unclear. Australia’s team performance wing is headed by Ben Oliver,with Langer’s close friend Gavin Dovey serving as the long-time team manager on the road.
Over the past 18 months,they have been consumed by the task of scheduling and completing bio secure series. Bubble fatigue,of course,deprived Langer of David Warner,Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins,to name three key players on this two-legged tour.
But beyond the many and varied excuses that have and will be raised - missing players,difficult conditions,the contrasting challenges posed by the West Indies and Bangladesh teams,or the absolute priority of the Ashes Tests at home - an essential truth remains. Australia is in the middle of a decline closing in on two years’ duration.
Many of these issues will need to be tackled in deciding if Langer’s tenure extends beyond the expiry of his current contract in the middle of 2022. They will also figure in talks about captaincy,given that both the Test skipper,Tim Paine,and the white ball leader,Aaron Finch,are getting close to the finish line.
Thirdly,Australia’s system has now been for a couple of years operating under a new philosophy whereby the National Cricket Centre and the Australia A program were shunted behind the states as the chief sources of cricket development. The rest of the world has done the opposite.