Cricket Australia have issued a public vote of confidence in their under-pressure head coach Justin Langer, following concerns over his 'intense' coaching style and some poor results in all formats.
Australia were recently beaten 4-1 in a T20I series by Bangladesh, their fifth straight series defeat in the format ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Langer's side were also beaten 2-1 at home by India in their most recent Test series, a remarkable turnaround given India were bowled out for 36 in the first Test, captain Virat Kohli missed all but one game to go on paternity leave and several key bowlers suffered injuries.
At the time, reports emerged suggesting that Langer's intense style had 'wore thin' with some players.
Langer did refute those reports, telling the Sydney Morning Herald that it "couldn't be further from the truth".
However, he did state that "leadership isn't a popularity contest", adding: "If players just want someone to tickle their stomachs all the time then I'm not doing my job."
Concerns over Langer's management have once again come to the fore following the series defeat to Bangladesh, with it emerging that Langer had been involved in a clash with a Cricket Australia journalist.
Cricket Australia's official website doubles as a news site and Langer and team manager Gavin Dovey took exception to a video posted on it which showed Bangladesh celebrating their series win by singing their team song.
The heated confrontation reportedly occurred in the team hotel and was witnessed by a number of people, with the Age reporting the incident 'left some players taken aback and with a sense of unease about what had transpired'.
Now, amid mounting pressure, Cricket Australia's CEO Nick Hockley has backed Langer as the right man to lead Australian cricket forward into a summer which contains the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Hockley said: "Justin has done an incredible job in raising the culture, values and behaviours of the Australian men's team since he took on the role in 2018.
"His efforts have restored public faith in the national team which is a side all Australian's can be incredibly proud of.
"He is contracted as Head Coach through to the middle of next year with the focus now on a successful T20 World Cup campaign followed by the home Ashes defence in what is one of the most anticipated Series and summers of cricket in Australia for many years.
"Like many in the community and around the world the team has had an extremely disruptive and challenging 18 months during the pandemic.
"Despite those challenges the side has had great success in One-Day, Test and T20 cricket, when all players were available.
"Justin, his coaching staff and the leaders within the team have an equally important part to play in ensuring a successful summer ahead for the Australian cricket team."
