Justin Langer's selection as head coach raises questions over Cricket Australia's commitment to improving team culture

Australia’s newly-appointed head coach Justin Langer swears by a book called Zen in the Martial Arts. So do I. You can think of it as a self-help book that teaches you important lessons of the Zen through short stories and anecdotes. Langer claims to have read the book 70 times. He even gave it to his good mate Glenn McGrath who claimed in his biography Line and Strength that lessons learnt from that book allowed him to recover from his injuries faster than what the doctors had predicted. The first lesson in Langer’s favourite book is titled “Empty Your Cup”. It talks about a story told to the author by Bruce Lee of a university professor who came to understand Zen from a Japanese master. The master soon realised that the professor was too eager to impress him with his own opinions and knowledge. The master went on to explain how you cannot fill a cup that is already full and if the distinguished professor wanted to learn something new, he must empty his cup first so that some new influences can be poured in. [caption id=“attachment_4456537” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Justin Langer. Reuters[/caption] Cricket Australia has talked incessantly about new influences and a new culture since the Newlands ball-tampering incident or as we call it, the sandpapergate. Till Langer’s appointment, they had done an excellent job of emptying their own cup. The team’s captain, vice-captain and head coach who had presided over an acerbic team culture were all cut away from the group. If Cricket Australia was serious about dropping the image of alpha male bullies, then it would have been fitting to appoint a person who is not a part of the existing culture in any way to take the team forward. There is no doubt over Langer’s coaching credentials. He has won three Big Bash League (BBL) titles with Perth Scorchers. He is credited with bringing about a transformation in the Western Australia team in Shield cricket. He was a part of Australia’s coaching staff as far back as 2009. He even filled in for Darren Lehmann twice when the latter was taking a break. You can say Cricket Australia had a clear succession plan in place and Langer was being groomed for the role. Under normal circumstances, Lehmann leaving the job and Langer taking over would have been business as usual. But these are exceptional circumstances in Australian cricket. The country is facing a crisis of sorts as they try to earn back the respect of cricket fans in the country and across the world. The ball-tampering incident was the tipping point for the whole media frenzy over a rotten Australian team culture. The core of their problem lied in failing to understand how sporting culture across the world has evolved and Australian cricketers somehow still imbibe some of the fake masculinity that is universally frowned upon these days. To their credit, Cricket Australia have done well by appointing one head coach for all three formats. It does make sense to have a specialist limited-overs and Test coach in this packed international calendar. But Cricket Australia needs a coach to preside over rebuilding the team in the absence of two senior-most players in their side for the next one year, and to do that effectively, they need the same person in charge of all three teams. If only they had been a bit more rigorous in the choice of that person! The last Australian coach who can be considered an outsider in the system was South African Micky Arthur. In hindsight, he probably had the right ideas for reforming Australian cricket culture but was hastily shown the door when some of the players weren’t comfortable in his regime. A good coach doesn’t necessarily have to be a great player. New Zealand’s Mike Hesson has been hugely successful as head coach of the national team. He didn’t just help the team find their winning ways; he also established a brand of no nonsense cricket that makes New Zealand cricketers immensely popular around the world. Australia’s own John Buchanan played only a few first-class games but was the most successful Australian coach in recent memory. If Cricket Australia wanted an Australian coach instead of appointing someone from overseas, then they should have done everything in their power to coax Tom Moody to do the job. Also from Western Australia, like Langer, Moody was considered one of the best cricketing brains in the country in his playing time and after retirement went on to coach Western Australia. Moody is currently the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team that consistently punches above its weight in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He had guided unfancied Sri Lanka to the World Cup final in 2007. Perhaps most importantly, Moody has been a part of coaching or administration staff in many different parts of the world including England and West Indies. Moody doesn’t just have impeccable credentials as a coach but also an understanding of cricketing ethos beyond the self-righteous “hard but fair” Aussie way. Looking at the way Cricket Australia has gone about choosing Lehmann’s successor, it’s probably the reason why he wasn’t considered for the job.