Australia coach reportedly had a public outburst over a Cricket Australia staffer posting a video of the Bangladesh team celebrating their victory on the board’s website.
Australian cricket has been in tumultuous times recently, and their issues only seem to get worse. Head coach Justin Langer was said to be a part of a public confrontation with a staffer of Cricket Australia after the Aussies lost their first-ever international series against Bangladesh.
According to The Age, the incident started with Australia team manager Gavin Dovey taking a shot at a CA digital staffer for posting a video on cricket.com.au of Bangladesh players celebrating after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the recently concluded T20I series.
Dovey found it inappropriate that the video of Bangladesh players singing their team song after Australia’s defeat was posted on the site. The incident took an ugly turn after the CA stood his ground during the confrontation. After finding out about what took place between the two, Langer himself confronted the staffer.
As per The Age, around a dozen people witnessed the incident. The report stated that the incident “left some players taken aback and with a sense of unease about what had transpired.”
After the incident, Dovey responded on Wednesday and took full responsibility for what had transpired.
“A healthy team environment includes the ability to have honest and frank discussions, whether it be between players, support staff or others within the team environment, which was the case here.
“There was a difference of opinion and we agreed to disagree on a particular matter. In hindsight, it was one of those instances which should have taken place in private. I take full ownership of that.”
Dovey said.
Lange chose not to comment on the matter. This is not the first time Langer has been under fire for his behaviour as the head coach. Previously he has been scrutinized for his intense coaching style and mood swings in the dressing room. Reports of senior players being unhappy with his method have made rounds earlier.
With the two Test series losses at home against India and the recent back to back T20I series losses against West Indies and Bangladesh, Langer’s time seems to be heading towards an end. Langer will need to get a strong performance out of Australia at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
