Shane Warne Says Cricket Australia Was “Disgraceful” In Its Handling Of Justin Langer’s Exit And Says England Should “Seize” The Opportunity To Appoint Him As Their New Head Coach; Warne sees why James Anderson was left out of the West Indies tour, but was surprised by Stuart Broad’s omission
Former Australia head coach Justin Langer is a candidate to take on the same role with England.
Shane Warne says England should be “seizing” the opportunity to appoint Justin Langer as their new head coach, while understanding why James Anderson has been left out of the squad for March’s three-Test tour of the West Indies.
Langer led his native Australia to the T20 World Cup title in November, followed by a 4-0 Ashes victory over England, but he resigned earlier this month after rejecting a short-term contract extension, with Warne saying that Cricket Australia handled Langer’s departure in a “shameful” manner. .
England currently do not have a permanent head coach following the departure of Chris Silverwood, with Paul Collingwood set to take charge in the Caribbean.
England’s most prolific Test wicket-takers of all time, Anderson and Stuart Broad, have been overlooked for games against the West Indies and while Warne is surprised by Broad’s omission, he says that Anderson’s absence will allow him to rest before the summer at home.
speaking in the Sky Sports Cricket PodcastAustralia’s legendary player Warne said of Langer: “If I were England, I’d be jumping on him.
“Winning an Ashes and a World Cup is not much bigger than that for Australia, but for me [Langer] I was a dead man walking when I didn’t hear the captain or any other player defending him, saying he was fantastic. I found that really disappointing.
“Why couldn’t Cricket Australia come out and say that they would not renew his contract immediately, but would wait until the end of the summer, to see who is the best candidate and if Langer is still the best candidate to give him a contract?
“I thought it was handled quite poorly and Cricket Australia was disgraceful in the way it handled it.”
Anderson and Broad, meanwhile, have taken a combined 1,177 Test wickets between them, but have missed out on selection for the West Indies tour with Mark Wood, Chris Wood, Ollie Robinson, Craig Overton, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher, the sewing bowlers included. alongside key all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Warne said: “I wasn’t surprised Anderson was left out. He’s the best bowler in England and when the conditions are right he’s still a handful, but when he was flat [in Australia] I think he fought.
“He threw good line and length, he was cheap and he could dry and finish and he could play a firepower role at the other end. But I think he needs conditions.”
“You want him to play in England and if he plays in the West Indies after the Ashes series it will be tough in England so I don’t mind him getting a break but he would have played Broad.”
“I think he bowled very well in Australia sometimes. People put Broad and Anderson together, but Broad is four years younger than Anderson, so I’m surprised Broad didn’t go to the West Indies.”
Warne also thinks England should consider T20 regular Liam Livingstone for Test cricket in the future.
The Lancashire player has earned 20 limited caps for his country and hit a national record 42 T20I hundred ball against Pakistan last summer, but has yet to make his Test debut.
Warne added of Livingstone: “I think he has a role to play in red ball cricket and is worth a shot in the middle order.
“He also throws in some pretty useful leg spins. A little bit of wrist spin when players are tired would be quite dangerous.”
“I’d like to see him make a few hundred in first-class cricket, not just make quick runs, like 40 from 15 balls. I’d like to see an ugly tackle and not give away his wicket, get through some hard-to-spell bowling.
“Does he survive or does he seek to get out of it? Is he a one-trick pony or is he better than that? I think he has the ability to be more than that.”
“This is a big year for him, he could play in every way for England if he is prepared and comes up with a plan in red ball cricket, he manipulates the pitch, he doesn’t just try to push the limits.
“With his power, he can really affect bowlers’ fields.”
