Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed his desire for Justin Langer to take on the England men’s head coach role that has been left vacant after the sacking of Chris Silverwood.
The ECB announced Silverwood’s departure on Thursday, with the former Essex coach paying the price for England’s 4-0 series defeat in the Ashes to Australia. An interim coach is set to be appointed for England’s next Test tour, a three-match series against the West Indies in March.
Australia men’s head coach Langer, who has overseen a T20 World Cup win and Ashes success in recent months, currently finds his future under a cloud after four years in the role. His contract is set to expire in June, and Cricket Australia has yet to reveal whether it will be extended. Reports emerged last year of tensions between Langer and his players over his coaching style, prompting CA chief executive Nick Hockley to issue a public statement backing the former Australia opener ahead of a World Cup and Ashes season.
Writing in the the Telegraph, Vaughan suggested that Langer is the man to take England forward, should the 51-year-old leave his role with Australia.
“My personal wish is for England to keep a close eye on events in Australia on Friday and act quickly if Justin Langer leaves his role,” wrote Vaughan.
“This England Test team needs some tough love. Joe Root needs a forceful coach next to him too. Gary Kirsten would be a great candidate as well but if you want one person to come in with a huge point to prove then it is Langer. He is an Ashes winner, T20 World Cup winner and knows everything about playing in Australia. Just go and get him.
“I don’t worry that Australia’s players were upset by him. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. They may soon discover the grass is not greener without Langer. You can’t go against results. He has won Ashes series convincingly, he drew in England, won the T20 World Cup when Australia were not expected to do so. Clearly he is doing something right.
“He would command instant respect. He has won everything in his life as a player and now he is a vastly experienced coach. He has had ups and downs. You need to have those disappointments to be successful and being told over the last 12 months that he was too intense and needed to delegate has been good for him.
“Looks to me like he has learned from that. But at first England might need the old Langer for a while, one who is in total charge and a disciplinarian.”
Kirsten, mentioned in Vaughan’s column, has previously coached India and South Africa and expressed a public interest in the role, but only if it doesn’t involve taking charge in all formats.
