Justin Langer’s bid to become England
men’s cricket team’s head coach ended without any success as the England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) reportedly put his application into a container. The ECB is looking
for former head coach Chris Silverwood’s replacement who stepped down after
England’s 4-0 Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia Down Under in January this year.

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Langer, a former Australia opener who
later coached the national team, was heavily linked with the top job. Langer quit his
Australia job after the 4-0 Ashes series win over England.

According to a Metro report, Langer was keen to coach England. ECB was also interested in him as the administration
feels a ‘strongman head coach like Langer’ would have been a better fit had Joe
Root remained skipper, with the 31-year-old needing ‘back-up from a forceful
personality behind him’.

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However, Ben Stokes, who is the strongest
contender for the England captaincy, has reportedly said he “need a coach who is good tactically
and a facilitator behind the scenes”.

Earlier this month, former England
bowler Derek Pringle expressed his concerns over Langer being named as
Silverwood’s replacement. “There was a time when English cricket slavishly
sought Australian know-how but I’m not sure the desire has endured,”
Pringle wrote in a column for the Metro.

Also Read: ECB appoints Rob Key as managing director to transform crisis-hit England

“Which is why I think Justin
Langer, tipped by some to be the next England head coach, is unlikely to get
that job. Langer was a fine, gutsy player but if the current Aussie team felt
his coaching style too intense, he will not be a good fit for England, despite
calls from some that they need tough love.

“We see this whole thing going on
in Australia where it doesn’t look like the players have a great deal of time
for Justin Langer,” Key told Sky Sports. “He’s a bit of hard
taskmaster, but they’ve come back from sandpaper-gate, they’ve won the T20
World Cup and they’ve won the Ashes easily.”

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However, according to a new report from
the Telegraph, Langer is now “out of the running for the job”, with England
looking to split the head coach role between red and white-ball cricket. The report
also states that England have “reservations over whether he would work well
with Ben Stokes”, with the all-rounder set to be named the new Test captain.