Australian Test captain Pat Cummins on Wednes-day denied that a player revolt over Justin Langer’s intense management style was behind the batting great’s shock resignation as men’s team coach.
Cummins had been under pressure from former players to explain his role in Langer’s departure after the 51-year-old quit on Saturday following unsuccessful talks with Cricket Australia over a contract extension. The paceman broke his silence in a written statement, saying he was previously unable to comment as it would have put his team in an “im-possible situation”.
“I’d never do that,” he said. “I believe in respecting the sanctity of the change room and proper process.” Cummins had repeatedly refused to back Langer to stay in the job despite his success guiding Austra-lia to an emphatic 4-0 Ashes victory over archrivals England and a maiden T20 World Cup title.
Langer also overhauled the toxic Australian cricketing culture that led to the 2018 “Sandpaper-gate” ball-tampering scandal. Speculation had centred on Langer’s self-admitted tendency towards being “grumpy.—APP
