The build up to and fallout of Langer’s exit as coach last year is a key focus of the second season of The Test documentary, which will be released on Friday on Prime Video.
Langer’s departure at the end of last summer came after Cricket Australia took on board concerns over the coach’s intensity at the end of his initial four-year deal. He was offered a new six-month contract with no chance of an extension, which he promptly rejected and resigned.
Langer has since made clear his frustration over the situation, speaking out in several interviews and columns before the start of the Test summer.
“He wanted to keep coaching. It was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract,” Warner said in the documentary.
Regardless, Warner also laid bare the situation within the squad. “He lost a fair few players, and probably the wrong players,” he said.
Players, however, also make clear Langer’s significant influence in the rebuild from the ball-tampering scandal and the revival of the national team’s public image. But, Cummins is adamant the decision to move on from Langer should not have come as a shock.
“The Ashes, it all came to a head because his contract came up,” Cummins told viewers. “There was nothing out of the blue. We had spoken about a lot of these things over the previous 18 months to two years He was brilliant when we needed him in those initial years.”
Cummins and other players reasoned the team had wanted to create a more level player-driven environment after the 2020-21 home series loss to India.
“The team had changed a lot over a four-year period,” quick Josh Hazlewood said. “We were probably in need of a different support staff and different coach, as opposed to four years ago when JL started.”
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