"If we win they hold their place; if we don't, they'll be under pressure" - Michael Clarke on Australia's veterans
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke believes that coach Justin Langer, Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and David Warner are on borrowed time. Clarke feels Australia need to win the T20 World Cup and the Ashes later this year for the quartet to hold onto their places.
Aaron Finch and David Warner are already under scrutiny due to their poor form in the ongoing tournament. The veteran openers failed to perform in the warm-up games as well, and could not get going in Australia's tournament opener against South Africa. The Aussies need their explosive openers to fire to ensure that their middle order does not come under pressure.
Australia have named their squad as they chase their first Men's T20 World Cup trophy 🏆
More: bit.ly/T20AusSquad https://t.co/Zzcl7apKMB
Clarke believes the veterans desperately need things to go their way in the T20 World Cup and Ashes. Underlining that results matter the most, Clarke told Nine Today:
"In regards to Lang and the players, you look at Aaron Finch, David Warner in the T20s, if we win they hold their place; if we don't they'll be under pressure."
"The Ashes are going to be the same, Tim Paine as captain, and a lot of these players, if we can win the series, Justin Langer as coach will keep his job. But if we don't, that comes with the role. We're so results-driven in everything we do that everyone respects that. I think Lang gets that as well."
Langer's spot has been under intense scrutiny after Australia's Test series loss against India and a forgettable run in T20 cricket of late. While the West Australian intends to continue after his contract ends in mid-2022, Cricket Australia are yet to decide on Langer's future.
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"The one thing about Lang's style is he's tough" - Michael Clarke
Clarke heaped praise on Langer's coaching style, claiming he has high expectations from himself. However, the 40-year old noted that Langer's intense nature might not be liked by everyone. The former right-handed batsman said in this regard:
"He's copped it, JL. Lang's a great man, I loved playing with him; he was batting coach and assistant coach when I was captain, and he did a great job. The one thing about Lang's style is he's tough."
"There's a lot of expectation that he has on himself as a person, a player and now a coach, but he's got that same expectation on his team. Some players don't like that; some players really enjoy that, and that's the balance in coaching a professional sporting team."
Australia opened their campaign at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 with a win over South Africa.
Marcus Stoinis kept his cool with a 16-ball 24* to help Australia beat South Africa #T20WorldCup https://t.co/47v1ZJnFqS
The men in yellow will next face Sri Lanka on Thursday in Dubai.