Langer speaks ahead contract talks

JUSTIN Langer’s future as Australian men’s head coach remains up in the air.

After guiding Australia to a maiden T20 World Cup triumph last November followed by a 4-0 Ashes thrashing of England, Langer has been backed by former Australian captains Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh to continue as coach beyond his current contract, which expires in June.

Ponting believes Cricket Australia should offer Langer a “two-to-three-year” contract on the back of recent red-ball and white-ball success, while Waugh thinks it’s time “rumours and innuendo” about the former test opener’s future were put to bed.

With the Ashes done and dusted, Langer expects to sit down with Cricket Australia soon to learn his coaching fate.

“People don’t seem to believe this, but the absolute truth is before the World Cup and the Ashes, we all committed to the end of the Ashes to sit down and have some conversations,” Langer told SEN Mornings.

“It’s been four really big years and it’s an all-encompassing job and it’s a tough gig… that’s just the truth.

“We all said that we’d sit down after the Ashes. So in the next little bit, I’m sure those conversations will start to be had.

“There’s plenty to be spoken about.”

Langer, who replaced Darren Lehmann following the ball-tampering saga in 2018, is feeling “really content” about Australia’s recent achievements and is remaining calm about his future.

“I’m never edgy [about the future],” he said.

“Before the World Cup and before the Ashes, we’ve never ever been better prepared. So it’s not a coincidence I don’t think that we’ve had the success that we’ve had.

“Whatever happens from now on, we can all be incredibly proud of this little period. We had two missions: To win the World Cup and to win the Ashes.

“To do that in such a short period is a monumental effort and we’re all really satisfied with that, we’re all really happy about that, we’re all really, really proud of that.

“I sit here at the moment feeling really content with the last two series.”

– BY ALEX ZAIA/ SEN