Australia head coach Justin Langer has been inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame. The decorated player and coach was announced as the latest entrant alongside former fast bowler and captain Raelee Thompson - a key figure in women’s sports in Australia.
Langer, who took over the reins from Darren Lehmann was one of the key figures in Australian cricket post the Sandpaper Gate scandal. Under his tutelage, Australia played the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup and went on to become the top ranked side in the T20I format - traditionally their weakest part of the game. However, times were turbulent since the onset of the pandemic and Langer’s methods were questioned by the Australian media and reportedly by the players.
It seems like a distant past considering the highs that Australia have experienced in the recent past - first winning the T20 World Cup in UAE and then drubbing England in the Ashes series in the 2021-22 season.
"Justin's contribution to Australian cricket spans across four separate decades," Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Chairman Peter King said. "First as a player, as part of one of the most successful teams that world cricket has ever seen. As a coach, he entered the role at a time of great need and leads the Australian Men's Cricket Team with great distinction, a team which the Australian public is very proud of."