Apurv Shukla
With the appointment of former Opener Justin Langer as the new Coach of the Australian team, Cricket Australia is trying to repair the damage caused by the ball-tampering incident in Newlands.
The infamous Test Match between Australia and South Africa in March this year will go down as a blot in the history of Cricket.
Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were caught tampering the ball. They have been banned from Cricket for a year in Smith and Warner’s case and nine months for the opening batsman Bancroft.
Rebuilding honour
Darren Lehmann also resigned as the Coach in the aftermath of the unsporting incident. With the appointment of Langer, a veteran of 105 Tests, Australia seek to take the first steps in building a new team with a culture markedly different from the Australian teams of old. Australia has always played an aggressive brand of cricket. But that aggressiveness has bordered on boorishness many a times.
They have looked to intimidate oppositions verbally even before a ball has been bowled. Possibly what happened at Newlands was the cumulative output of years of build-p of a psyche, where a win at any cost was the ultimate goal.
Langer brings with him good experience as a Coach.
He has served as an Assistant Coach to Tim Nielsen and Mickey Arthur for Australia, and then coached Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL) with success.
Formidable challenge
He assumes his new role in possibly the most challenging time facing Australian Cricket since Bob Simpson became the first full time professional coach of Australia in 1986. Australia faces a tour by India, the cricket World Cup and an Ashes series in the next fifteen months. His best two batsmen Smith and Warner will not be available for selection until two months from the start of the World Cup in May next year.
He will have a new Captain to work with in Wicket Keeper Tim Paine. The team needs to win back the support and confidence of the fans of the game by playing honest cricket and valuing the baggy green they wear.
Confusing signals
Directions emanating from their dressing room though have been confusing.
Before relinquishing his role as Coach, Lehman praised the New Zealand Cricket team’s playing style and thought that his side could a leaf from that.
Paine has stressed that Australia maintain their hard-edged approach towards Cricket and not play soft like the Black Caps. The 47-year-old Langer is a gritty cricketer who played in the most successful Australia team in history, of the early 2000’s.
He must find a middle ground.
Secure future
The future of Australian Cricket looks secure. Record numbers are playing their national game. The domestic structure is producing solid cricketer’s .Their T-20 competition- BBL has been a phenomenal success. Cricket Australia recently sold their broadcast rights for A$1.18 billion, in a six-year deal with Fox Sports.
World Cricket needs a strong Australian team. The team has undergone a major crisis with the ball tampering issue. Australian fans and the board will be hoping that Langer with his famed work ethic, leadership and values restores the pride back in Australian cricket and makes it a gentleman’s game again.
Photo :
Justin Langer
(Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia)
