Australian Players Should Have A View On Justin Langer's Future, Says ACA Chief

Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) chief Todd Greenberg on Wednesday said that players in the national side should have a view on head coach Justin Langer's future.

Langer's contract as the head coach expires in June 2022. But over the past few days, reports in Australia have said Langer was asked by Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley and head of performance of men's team Ben Oliver to re-apply for the head coach job. All of this has led to doubts over whether Langer will continue in the role or not.

"I know they've spoken to a number of our players, which is good, because players should have a view. But ultimately the players don't make the sole decision on these things. They're able to provide some feedback and ultimately these are decisions for the CA board," Greenberg was quoted as saying by 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.

Greenberg firmly believes players ought to have views and give feedback honestly. "I don't subscribe to the theme of player power - I haven't seen that and I certainly don't feel that in cricket. The players should have a view, and they should be able to provide honest and open feedback. But ultimately, we also understand our place. It's not our decision to make, we're just part of a bigger set of stakeholders."

Talking about Langer, Greenberg remarked, "One thing you can't dispute about Justin is he's a legend of Australian cricket, having played 100 Test matches. He's done an extremely good job over the last four years as coach, and in the last 12 months has had unbelievably strong success. He's got a very strong resume. The question that will be on CA's board is which direction they want to go to next."

Greenberg cautioned over making comparisons of cricket with other sports in terms of coaching roles. "Cricket is nuanced, it's different to the winter codes. The coach effectively is the head of the support staff, and is there to ensure the environment gives the players their best chance to succeed. All those things need to be taken into account when you make a decision."

Langer will be on his planned leave when Australia face Sri Lanka in the five-match T20I series starting from February 9.