"Kick in the face" - David Warner on Justin Langer's short-term extension as coach
Veteran Australian opener David Warner believes it was unfair to offer Justin Langer only a six-month contract extension as head coach of the side. The 36-year-old also admitted that the west Australian lost a few key players during his tenure.
Following their 2021-22 Ashes series victory on home soil, Cricket Australia entered into a lengthy discussion with Langer regarding his future as the men's team's coach. The former Aussie opener stepped down from the role in February as the board offered him only a six-month contract with no option of extension.
In season two of Amazon Prime's documentary The Test, Warner said:
"He wanted to keep coaching. It was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract. He lost a fair few players, and probably the wrong players."
The second season of 'The Test' documentary, set to be released on Friday, January 13, focuses on the build-up to, and the fallout, of Langer's exit. The 52-year-old's departure remains one of the most contentious episodes in Australian cricket's recent history, with the 105-Test veteran voicing his frustrations in several interviews and columns.
"Seeing it objectively there is a little less heat and emotion" - Pat Cummins on the Justin Langer saga
Test captain Pat Cummins has stated that the documentary accurately shows what, and how, transpired at the time. The right-arm pacer recognizes the heat surrounding the episode but hopes that the documentary will provide more context to the public.
Speaking to AAP, Cummins said:
"We're all at peace with it. The way it's told is pretty accurate to how it all played out. A lot of these things publicly and outside the group get really heated and can be really divisive. Hopefully with the cameras inside the group you get a bit more context and it's not divisive. Seeing it objectively there is a little less heat and emotion involved in the situation as opposed to what might get played out in the papers and conversations."
Former Aussie all-rounder Andrew McDonald replaced Langer as the coach of the men's team.