"I’ve got so much respect for Patty Cummins" - Justin Langer clarifies his stance after explosive interview
Former Australian men's cricket team head coach Justin Langer has refuted claims about being in a rift with Test captain Pat Cummins. Instead, Langer said that he has plenty of respect for Cummins and that he's a good human being.
On the Back Chat podcast, the former Test opener launched a scathing attack on the Australian team members who he believed were speaking behind his back and engineered his axing. Langer also label;ed them cowards and felt he deserved an extension beyond six months after delivering improved results.
Didn’t expect anything less than the honesty JL gave in this one.
See the full chat with Justin Langer on @backchat__ here:
linktr.ee/backchat_podca… https://t.co/uEGvZof18P
Speaking to 7 News Perth, Langer clarified that there exists no war between him and Cummins. Instead, the West Australian claimed that he has been in constant touch with the Test captain over text. Langer said:
"I’ve got so much respect for Patty Cummins. I think he’s a brilliant player. I think he’s an outstanding human being. So any thought there’s war between Patty and I could not be further from the truth. Ironically, I spoke to Patty on Monday. We had a long talk about how the team was going, how he’s going, how his family’s going. And some of this rubbish is complete and utter rubbish."
The retired player also added that he never criticised the players and always admired their honesty. Langer continued:
"There was sort of talk about relating the word coward with Pat Cummins. If you listen to the podcast, I was actually praising Pat, I was praising Finchy, I was praising Tim Paine for giving me the feedback. I was actually complimenting them, not criticising them as it’s come out.
The 105-Test veteran exited as the head coach in February after declining a six-month extension from Cricket Australia. Several former players expressed their displeasure over how the board treated him.
"I can’t wait for the Test match to start next week" - Justin Langer
Justin Langer also said that he's in contact with most of the players, including receiving birthday messages. The West Australian said:
"We (Cummins and I) texted last night. He was at a Christmas party with his family. Steve Smith rang me at lunchtime yesterday; we had a great talk, the vice-captain. Ironically two days before I got half a dozen birthday messages from all the boys. Nathan Lyon sent me a birthday message, Mitch Marsh, all the rest."
Looking forward to the first Test of the summer starting next week against the West Indies, Langer added:
"I’ve been in touch with these guys ever since I stopped being in the team, and I can’t wait for the Test match to start next week, and the reason I can’t wait is I haven’t seen them. I haven’t seen the boys since I finished in February."
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Australia have named their squads for the Test series against West Indies and the ODI series against England 💪
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Cummins first captained Australia under Justin Langer in the 2021-22 Ashes series.