Justin Langer Says He Would Have To Divorce His Wife To Accept England Coaching

Ricky Ponting Justin Langer Matthew Hayden Joe Root. Image Credits: AFP

Justin Langer was heavily linked to the England head coach role in Tests earlier this summer, which he eventually declined. This was after Brendon McCullum’s sacking from the red-ball role after the New Zealand series defeat, at the back of a forgettable Ashes series.

Subsequently, New Zealand legend Stephen Fleming was appointed head coach, and Fleming's Trans-Tasman counterpart Justin Langer went on to comically reveal that he would be a divorcee had he taken up the role in England.

Justin Langer reveals why he declined the England job

In the aftermath of Australia’s emphatic innings and 51-run win over Bangladesh in Mackay, the former Australia opener was with Ricky Ponting on the post-match show. During the show, Langer was asked whether the news regarding his move to England as their new coach was true.

Justin Langer did not hold back and spilt the beans instantly and revealed he would have been boycotted by his friends and family had he taken the job in England, just a year ahead of the Ashes.

“I probably would have got divorced if I did [take the job]. I would have been divorced literally from my wife and daughters,” he told 7Cricket.

Furthermore, he said his good friends and former Australia teammates would also divorce him, to which Ricky Ponting reacted with a nice laugh.

“But also [divorced by] Ricky and Haydos and the other [Australian] mates,” he said before getting serious about the topic, “it’s a big job and a big project. Stephen Fleming has got a great cricket mind but from my point of view, I thought of singing the England national anthem in the Ashes. Oh, man! No,” he concluded.

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Why would Langer have faced a boycott?

As it is widely known, the England and Australia rivalry is probably the biggest in the world of cricket. It is also the oldest rivalry in the sport, originating in the 1800s.

England have been struggling in Test cricket in recent years and have not had their hand on the Ashes Urn since the win in 2015. And taking up the England role would have meant that Langer was going to help the arch-rivals win against his home country.

Considering he coached the Aussies for four years, he also knew a lot about the players’ game and mindset, which would have helped him exploit the team. Moreover, as a player, Langer had an incredible record against England, scoring 1658 runs in 21 Ashes Tests at an average of 50.24 with five tons and the career high of 250 at the MCG in 2002.

Would Langer make a good England coach?

The England red-ball head coach is among the most high-profile roles in the cricketing world, and there would be a lot of media scrutiny for every move a coach would make. Langer has previously been in such an environment with the Aussie national team.

During his tenure as Australia’s head coach from 2018 to 2022, there were reports of an imploding dressing room. As revealed in the Amazon Prime documentary, The Test, players felt intimidated by Langer and his over-competitive spirit in the dressing room.

In such a precarious situation after the end of the Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era, the England job needed patience and a lot of man management, considering there were some off-field controversies. Hence, passing the England job was a wise decision from Langer’s perspective.

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