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Updated August 20th, 2021 at 08:42 IST

Australian Test skipper Tim Paine stands with Coach Langer, says 'it's been a tough week'

Justin Langer’s Australian dressing room has seen him come under intense pressure but the cricket board and Test captain Tim Paine has backed the former player.

Reported by: Suraj Alva
Justin Langer gets backing from Tim Paine
Image: AP | Image:self
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Australia's cricket team coach Justin Langer has been under pressure after players expressed discontent on shortcomings in his coaching. However, despite questions being raised over his management style, Langer has received support from the country's cricket board. Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley, in a public statement, said that the former Australian opener was doing a great job in coaching the men's team with an assurance that he will remain the head coach of the team until his contract expires in mid-2022. 

Tim Paine, Aaron Finch back Justin Langer

Earlier Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch had raised concerns over players leaking reports to media about Langer's intense coaching methods. While expressing concerns about internal tensions, Finch said, "It wasn't a great look" that players were leaking details about the coach's behaviour. "When the team loses, the problem becomes more pronounced," Finch had said.

Australia's series losses in Bangladesh and West Indies have brought intense pressure on the former opener and current Australian coach. However, Australia's Test team skipper, Tim Paine, has come out in support of Langer. Speaking to SEN Hobart, Paine said, “There’s no hiding from it - it’s been a tough week. Certainly tougher for Justin Langer than anyone else. It’s been a bit of a shame the last week that a lot of the failings around Australian cricket have been pinned on JL. That’s certainly not the case. We haven’t lived up to our own standards on the field."

Paine added, "We are all on the same page, we are all trying to get better, we want to make Australian cricket as great as it always was. We want to be the best team in the world and to do that we have to have some tough and robust conversations and we’ve certainly done that as a senior group in the last 24 to 48 hours and we’ve come out of it really pumped about what’s ahead in the next six months. It was important that myself, Aaron Finch, Pat Cummins and the leaders of Australian cricket discussed things that needed to be discussed and then got around him and supported him and looked to move forward.”

Bangladesh vs Australia: Justin Langer involved in argument with a staffer 

If discontent inside the dressing room wasn't enough, Langer's problem's only escalated following reports of his tiff with a team staffer following the team's series loss against Bangladesh. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald quoted sources close to the Australian team to report that a member of Cricket Australia's digital team was given a strict warning about the contents of the video. The matter was initially raised by Gavin Dovey, who said it was inappropriate for the Bangladesh team song to be posted on Cricket Australia's website. However, the staffer persisted and the argument quickly escalated. Justin Langer also held a discussion with the staffer in order to find common ground.

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Published August 20th, 2021 at 08:42 IST

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