Perth, May 26 Justin Langer has hit out at the dirty politics in Cricket Australia for his ouster in February this year as chief coach of the Australian men's team, taking pot-shots at Richard Freudenstein, interim chairman of Cricket Australia.
Langer quit as Australia coach despite guiding the team to the ICC T20 World Cup title last year, when he was offered a six-month contract extension by Cricket Australia after some players complained to CA over his over-aggressive handling of matters.
A host of Australia's greatest Test players, including Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, and the late Shane Warne, lambasted CA for the way it treated Langer. They considered it as CA's attempt to push the 51-year-old Langer towards the exit following a reported breakdown in his relationship with the players.
Langer on Wednesday recalled the conversation he had with Freudenstein the day after he quit as Australia coach.
"The first thing he said to me was, 'It must make you feel so good that all your mates are supporting you in the media'," Langer told a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA event in Perth.
"I said, 'Yeah it is, acting chairman, but with all due respect, those mates are also the all-time greats of Australian cricket. They are the fabric of Australian cricket. They are Australian cricket. They also work all around the world in cricket. So yeah, I'm glad my mates are looking after me. Imagine if you had have done so' (in the first place)," Langer said.
Langer said the last six months of his coaching career were the most enjoyable period of 12 years of coaching. But that also proved the most decisive as Australia won the T20 World Cup and also the Ashes at home. But that also proved the most decisive as he lost the support of the players.
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