England thrashing to T20 WC glory: Justin Langer’s record as Aus head coach

Justin
Langer on Saturday resigned as the head coach of the Australian men’s cricket
team, ending the months-long speculations surrounding his role. The decision
came after a seven-hour meeting with the Cricket Australia board on Friday
night, where his position was the subject of “significant discussions”, The
Guardian reported.

After
failing to reach a resolution, the governing body said further discussions were
needed before deciding on whether or not to extend Langer’s contract, which is
due to run out this year.

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However,
Langer’s management company confirmed in a tweet that the former opener has
resigned effective immediately. “DSEG confirms that our client Justin Langer
has this morning tendered his resignation as coach of the Australian men’s
cricket team,” the group said.

Langer record as head coach:

Langer was
appointed as Australia’s head coach in the aftermath of the ball-tampering
scandal that rocked Australian cricket. His first assignment was a limited-overs
tour of England, with Australia being blown away by the then-top-ranked side in
ODI cricket.

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Australia were
whitewashed in the five-match ODI series, including conceding a world record 481
runs at Nottingham, before being thrashed in the one-off T20I clash.

That was
followed by another historic loss, this time at home as the Virat Kohli-led
Indian team became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia,
beating the hosts 2-1 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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2019 was a positive
year for Langer and Australia, as they retained the Ashes in England for the first
time in 18 years, after drawing the series 2-2. The ODI World Cup later that
year saw Australia progress to the semi-final, where they lost to hosts and
eventual champions England by eight wickets in the semi-final.

In 2020, Australia
got some redemption against England in their second tour of the country under
Langer, beating the Three Lions 2-1 in a three-match ODI series.  The year ended with a loss at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground to India in the Test series – that India went on to win 2-1.

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2021 was a roller
coaster year as Australia lost consecutive T20I series against New Zealand, West
Indies, Bangladesh, before going on to win their maiden T20 World Cup in the
UAE.

Australia
then went on to thrash England 4-0 in the home Ashes series that summer.

Overall,
Langer’s 55% win record in Tests is second only to John Buchanan among Australian
coaches.