Angry Hayden goes into bat for his old mate
TWENTY days after pulverising England’s brittle batsmen in the final Ashes Test, Australia’s bowling cartel claimed another scalp.
That was the firm view of some players inside the national dressing room on Saturday after coach Justin Langer resigned.
Cricket Australia tabled a puny contract extension to Langer that he was never going to accept on the back of player feedback.
The mess has left plenty shaking their heads.
“So the players who were responsible for the degradation of Australian cricket are now the ones calling the shots?” a source in Australian cricket told News Corp.
Sections of Australian cricket have accused the “Cricket New South Wales mafia” of undermining Langer, pointing out that Neil Maxwell is a director at Cricket NSW and also manages Australia’s bowling captain Pat Cummins.
Langer’s manager, James Henderson, described the detractors as “a faceless few”.
An emotional Matthew Hayden was angered after the betrayal of his great mate and long-time opening batting partner.
“I’m just disappointed because I feel there has been this undermining of him for some time,’’ he said. “It hasn’t just come from players. Even the media has worked hard to try and find ways to destroy Justin’s reputation and career.
“If there is a better person out there good luck – you would want to have your back protected because no-one is going to back you. If you are not going to back Justin Langer, who are you going to back?”
Former Aussie quick Mitchell Johnson said: “I’m pretty angry. There’s been a lot of disrespect. Not every player is going to like the same coach. So what does that mean for the future?”