Australian coach, Darren Lehmann has confirmed that his former Test teammate, Justin Langer will take over the reins for Australia's ODI tri-series tournament to be held in June 2016 in the Caribbean. The tri-series will feature Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
Lehmann, since taking up the Australian coaching role in 2013, will be taking his first extended break and sit out during the limited-overs tour of the Caribbean. Langer seems next in line to replace Lehmann in the long run, and this will give Langer and the players a chance to get to know each other.
Currently, Langer is coaching The Alcohol. Think Again Warriors in the Sheffield Shield and the Matador Cup. In addition, the former Australian opener is also the coach of defending Big Bash League (BBL) champions, Perth Scorchers.
In October 2014, Lehmann had stated,”I believe he (Langer) will be the next coach of Australia.” However, Lehmann did mention that he has no intentions of quitting the job anytime soon as he believes he still has goals to achieve with the Australian cricket team.
“I haven’t got an end date in mind, I’d like to go for a while yet. There’s no immediate plans at all (to hand over the reins) but it just gives me a longer break.
“He (Langer) will do a great job and the blokes are really comfortable about that, we’ve spoken about it and everything is fine,” Lehmann said.
Before taking up the role of the coach of the Scorchers, Langer was batting consultant for the Australian national team. This was after he bid adieu to cricket after playing 105 Tests. In his Test career, Langer scored 7696 runs at an average of 45.27. He scored 23 centuries and 30 half-centuries in his 14-year Test career.
“Now it’s a case of developing other coaches under you all the time and making sure they’ve got opportunities as well. I think his (Langer’s) record speaks for itself as a coach. It’s just a good chance for him to get back into the system and get to know the lads again,” Lehmann said.
It's not just Lehmann who has backed Langer's appointment for the West Indies tour. The 45-year-old former opener also has the backing of Cricket Australia. Pat Howard, CA's Executive General Manager Team Performance, believed that the new role would help Langer develop his coaching skills.
“Given the amount of cricket coming up on the international calendar, we've tried to find some time for Darren to plan and focus on the next period for the Australian side. Justin Langer has done an outstanding job, taking his teams to the finals of our three domestic competitions last year, and winning two of them.
“He's also done a very good job preparing WA players to represent Australia. This appointment to cover the limited overs series in the Caribbean is a great reward for that excellent work,” Howard said.
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