Australian head coach Justin Langer sees there is no reason that Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft can’t return in the Australian squad.
The trio has been suspended by Cricket Australia (CA) after their involvements in the ball-tampering incident during the third Test against the hosts South Africa at Cape Town in this March. Smith and Warner have been suspended for one-year each while Bancroft has been banned for nine months.
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Langer believes that the trio has every possibility to return in the national squad if they play well and the team’s environment is right.
Langer said in The Howie Games, “If our environment’s right and they’re playing well, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be welcomed back in to help us win the World Cup and help us win the Ashes next summer. If we can have an environment of great young leaders and welcome those guys back, we can be a real force and perhaps a team that’s smiling a lot more than the team was before it happened.”
Langer praised each of them as he called Steven Smith is one of the nicest people while he feels Cameron Bancroft is an elite professional. Talking about David Warner, Langer said that Warner is the marathon man of Australian cricket.
Langer said, “Steve Smith is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. He’s also a complete cricket tragic. He’s a ripping young bloke. And what a player. As committed to batting and being great as anyone you’ll ever meet.”
“Cameron is as elite a professional as anyone I’ve ever met. He was the heartbeat of Western Australia and from all accounts, talking to Darren Lehmann, he was the heartbeat of the Australian team. He is that tough, he would literally cut his legs off to play cricket for Australia. He is that sort of character that you love to have around the place.”
“Davey’s the marathon man of Australian cricket, people don’t remember that. He’d played every single game of cricket. He’d play Test, One Day, T20, IPL, cricket all year round.”
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As a head coach, Langer believes that his job is to help the cricketers to become great people along with to help them to become the great cricketers.
Langer said, “Since the first day I got the job as head coach of Western Australia I always thought my job was to help these guys not only become great cricketers but also become great people. I think it is as important for them to become great cricketers as it is for them to become great Australians and I believe that as the Australian head coach.”
