Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Mitchell Johnson, Kim Hughes, Matthew Hayden… and the list goes on.
The ugly divorce between Cricket Australia (CA) and Justin Langer has not gone down well and the reaction from some of the country’s most highly-decorated ex-players reflects that.
Now current skipper Pat Cummins is coming under fire, with Johnson in particular scathing of the 28-year-old, accusing him of being “gutless” in failing to publicly back Langer.
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Former Australian Test captain Michael Clarke though has clear advice for Cummins, who he feels is being unfairly targeted for finding himself in a “nasty”, “lose-lose” situation.
Speaking on The Big Sports Breakfaston Monday, Clarke said the questions surrounding Langer’s exit — and in particular Cummins’ own involvement — will continue until the skipper comes out and addresses them head-on.
“The Australian public aren’t stupid and this is my point with Pat Cummins,” Clarke said.
“His reputation is squeaky-clean. Right now it has taken a hit, until he stands there and voices his opinion. Look what Mitchell Johnson said about Pat Cummins. A teammate, a friend of his has smoked him.
“My advice to Patty is he has got to stand there. He needs to tell the fans where he sits on this because everyone thinks it is Patty who made the decision. That accountability sits with him.
“He is trying to honour both parties and has done it very well. He is trying to look after Cricket Australia. I don’t like seeing Pat get smacked for this because I think he is in a lose-lose situation. He sits right in the middle.”
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CA boss Nick Hockley has come out in defence of Cummins, branding criticism of the skipper “unfair” and clarifying his feedback was “one of a broad amount of consultation”.
Regardless, Clarke sees value in Cummins himself putting the speculation to bed.
“Patty needs to come out and make his opinion very clear,” Clarke said.
“Cricket Australia have to allow him to be open and honest otherwise he will be blamed for this. A lot of people are smashing him for this.
“I saw Mitchell Johnson’s comments, he smoked him. I think a lot of people are thinking what Mitch is thinking. You’ve got the likes of Mark Taylor talking about it, Steve Waugh making comments, Ricky Ponting’s comments are very strong.
“When Steve Waugh comes out and says something that’s big. He’s not paid by anyone. For him to come out and make a comment, this thing is heavy. You’ve got past legends fuming with how a 100-Test player and very successful coach has been treated.
“I’m suggesting to Pat Cummins as the leader, he needs to stand tall and explain to past players — Mitchell Johnson, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden — plus the fans and cricket lovers, what the hell is going on here?
“My question is how much involvement did Pat have? Did he want this change and [if so] why? Bring on accountability. When you lose, that’s on you as captain. If this is what Patty wants, respect to him but he’s going to have to take the hits as well.”
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Otherwise, Clarke worries CA risks making similar mistakes to that in the aftermath of the sandpaper scandal.
“We kept so much information away from the public, it’s never going to die,” he said.
“There’s still questions. This will be the same if it’s not handled the right way. At the moment there is so much unknown, so many chinese whispers, people hiding behind a journalist or a manager, it doesn’t work like that with cricket in this country.
“I saw it first-hand in India when four players got dropped from the team. The coach went and did the media and it wasn’t communicated as well as it needed to be and then it was like I had no choice. I spoke to James Sutherland, the CEO at the time, and said: ‘I have to do media. The truth needs to come out’.
“You cannot hide behind the chinese whispers here. That’s fine if senior players want JL gone. Say it and be honest. It’s fine if support staff wanted JL gone. Stand there and tell us the reasons. You can’t comprehend it at the moment because we don’t have all the information.”
CA also came under scrutiny for only offering Langer a six-month extension after months of speculation over his future.
Clarke described it as a “token offer” and was left questioning what Langer could have done to warrant a longer contract, having changed his “intense” approach in a bid to improve results.
“I think why everyone is p***ed off is what else are you meant to do? How do you keep your job?” he asked.
“If Justin Langer hasn’t earned the right to keep his job with what he has achieved in the last year-and-a-half or even the last four years, after how he helped Australia come back from [Sandpapergate].
“In my time, Australian cricket had never been in a lower position or spot than what happened in South Africa. What more can you do than what Langer has done? I think that is why the fans are so disappointed.
“The other thing and I said it the other day, let’s not forget in South Africa, 90 per cent of players who are in the squad now were in the squad then when it happened. The same leadership group was in South Africa when it happened and the guy we employed to get us out of that, toughen us up and build respect back, we’ve just insulted him with a six-month deal.
“JL has copped criticism about his style of coaching but I actually think he has taken that on board and I think he has made some changes. He must have. The team is winning.
“If that [being intense] is his weakness, how lucky are we to have him?”