Justin Langer has done an incredible job since his appointment, defends Nick Hockley
Nick Hockley, on Wednesday, issued a statement in defence of the under-fire Australian head coach Justin Langer and stated that he has done a great job since he took over the job. The statement also added that the coach's efforts have helped restore Australian cricket's public image.
Australian cricket is going through a tough phase in international cricket. After not having lost a single T20I game against Bangladesh, they went on to face a 1-4 defeat in the five-match T20I series in the absence of several star players. The Men in Yellow had also tasted defeat against West Indies where they had lost the T20I series 1-4. Apart from that, there was also a heated verbal exchange on the Bangladesh tour involving Justin Langer and there were reports of rifts in the dressing room over his coaching style to add to the woes.
Given the immense scrutiny that Langer has been facing for a while and the uncertainty around his tenure, Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has strongly come out in his defence and lavished praises on his coaching style. He stated that the former Aussie Test opener has done a great job and changed Australian cricket's image for the good.
"Justin has done an incredible job in raising the culture, values and behaviours of the Australian men's team since he took on the role in 2018," Hockley said in a statement.
"His efforts have restored public faith in the national team which is a side all Australian's can be incredibly proud of. He is contracted as head coach through to the middle of next year with the focus now on a successful T20 World Cup campaign followed by the home Ashes defense in what is one of the most anticipated series and summers of cricket in Australia for many years."
He, however, admitted that the last 18 months haven't been good for the world and so has been the case with the senior men's team, but highlighted that the team had its share of success across different formats when they played their full-strength side.
"Like many in the community and around the world, the team has had an extremely disruptive and challenging 18 months during the pandemic. Despite those challenges, the side has had great success in One-Day, Test and T20 cricket, when all players were available.
"Justin, his coaching staff and the leaders within the team have an equally important part to play in ensuring a successful summer ahead for the Australian cricket team."