Australian cricket needs specialist format coaches, says Watson

Australia should move away from their traditional approach of appointing one coach for all three formats of the game, former all-rounder Shane Watson said on Thursday.

Cricket Australia (CA) is looking for a new head coach after the resignation of Justin Langer, with Andrew McDonald appointed on an interim basis.

Watson, who represented Australia in all three formats in more than 300 appearances, said the team would benefit if the top coaching job was shared.

“I think it is going to have to be a necessity to break up the formats with their [Australia’s] coaches” Watson told the International Cricket Council’s show, The ICC Review.

“There is a good chance they will split the roles as I don't think it is sustainable that everyone does every single format for a long period of time.

“There is always going to be burnout and fatigue in a team environment, especially now with Covid and bubbles and similar situations that are around.”

Watson said former Sri Lanka and England coach Trevor Bayliss would be a good fit for Australia.

“I love the experience Trevor Bayliss has,” Watson said. “He has probably seen every single thing possible in cricket just about and I would love to see him get a great opportunity.

“Andrew McDonald is a great coach and is in the early part of his career, but I would err towards experience just for this interim period for the next stage of Australian cricket.”

Meanwhile, CA’s new chair Lachlan Henderson said on Thursday the board would reflect on its handling of Langer’s contract after the head coach’s resignation in acrimony this month.

Langer had hoped for a long contract extension after Australia won the Twenty20 World Cup and thrashed England in the Ashes, but the former Test opener was offered only six months.

Former players and pundits said CA had treated Langer poorly, though Test captain Pat Cummins endorsed the board’s decision and said players were ready for a new coach.

Henderson said the board might have dealt more quickly with Langer, given the weeks of media speculation that built after the Ashes over his future in the role.

“It is unfortunate that a bit of that played out in the media and we’ll reflect on whether that should have been accelerated through the summer,” Henderson told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

“But it was always our intention to make that decision at the end of the summer, and we followed that process.

“It got messy in terms of things playing out in the media.”

Reuters