Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has responded to former Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson's comments against him after Justin Langer resigned as team head coach. Johnson called Cummins "gutless" and added that the Australia skipper “failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.”
Cricket Australia (CA) on Saturday (February 5) accepted men's team head coach Justin Langer's resignation. "Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept," stated an official CA release.
Cummins said that Langer should not be surprised with the feedback the players and support staff gave regarding him because there were two years of evaluation. He feels the ex-Australia head coach altered his coaching style lately and did a fine job, however, it was time for the team to move on from him.
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"I think he tweaked and changed quite a bit. He deserves a lot of credit for that. I think the question then became do we think that it's sustainable. We thought it is the right time to make a change. I think some of these skill sets are perhaps a little bit different to perhaps his traditional coaching style," Cummins said.
"I think he tweaked his coaching style in the last six months and did a really good job, but we think now is the right time for a different direction. It's a matter of opinion but we think it's the right one. I don't think he should be surprised though, it's been two years of evaluation. I don't think there's any big surprise," he added.
Reacting to Johnson's criticism of him, Cummins said the ex-Australia pacer is standing up for his friend, but he disagrees with his comment. "Mitchell Johnson is just standing up for his mates. I absolutely disagree with what he said. No, he hasn't reached out, but that's fine. He's entitled to his opinion, he's standing up for his mate.
"I can hold my head high so I'm fine. I actually haven't really had much of it (personal criticism) before, so it's actually been good to get it out of the way early in the captaincy.
"I knew when I took on the job it's gonna come with added scrutiny. The last week's been good ... I'll cop it, but I'm absolutely fine with it. I know a lot of it's come from the right place. We all want to do what's best for Australian cricket. There's been a lot of emotion flying around. Added to the feedback, you've got to take everything in that kind of context. They're all people I really respect so I listen to them for sure. I'd welcome chatting to any of them directly about feedback and thoughts they have," he added.
Langer had reportedly told Cricket Australia that he was quitting as head coach due to a lack of support from senior players, support staff and the board. He took over as national coach in 2018 after the ball-tampering scandal and recently Australia won the Ashes 2021-22 4-0 over England under his coaching.
"We're custodians of the Australian cricket team. It's not forever. We just want to do what's best. Me as captain, I want to do what's best for Australian cricket and what's best for the team. It's a responsibility I've been given and I take that really seriously," said Cummins.
(With ANI Inputs)
