Mitchell Johnson has strongly criticised Pat Cummins for his role in the departure of Justin Langer as Australia head coach, with the former Australia quick labelling the current Test captain “gutless”.

Langer resigned after being offered a six-month contract extension by Cricket Australia, with the debate around whether his tenure would be extended swirling in recent times.

Langer has ended his stint on a high, with Australia winning the T20 World Cup and beating England 4-0 in the Ashes in his final two campaigns in charge. But those were the high points of an up and down four years following Sandpapergate, with Australia losing two home series to India – the latter to a significantly depleted side – and failing to win a single Test series away from home. The circumstances surrounding Langer’s exit have proved controversial, with several leading figures in Australian cricketing reacting angrily to the perceived slight. some of the leading figures of the game.

In a column for The West Australian, Johnson aimed a salvo at the present Australia skipper, blaming him for the fiasco for his failure to show any direct support for Langer, instead stating that the ball was in Cricket Australia’s court.

“It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. JLs been doing a fantastic job, he’s been there for four years, his contract is obviously up soon, they’re just going through an evaluation process at the moment,” Cummins said. “Which I think is fair, the right thing to do. We all get evaluated all the time as cricketers. It’s part of a high-performance environment. That process is happening, it’s a decision for Cricket Australia and we just have to wait.”

In his column, Johnson said that Cummins had failed “his first big Test as captain”.

“Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer”, he continued, “Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably.

“He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn’t want it to happen.”

Johnson believed that Cummins, being the Australia skipper, must have been at the centre of the decision-making process.

“Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened,” Johnson said. “He’s clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start.

“The baggy green is hyped as the most revered symbol in Australian sport. But what does it stand for now? In the wake of the disgraceful white-anting of Langer as coach, which led to his resignation on Saturday, it stands for selfishness.”