After completing a 3-0 home Test series sweep over New Zealand, Australia are slated to travel to India for a three match ODI series
Justin Langer
Sydney: Australia coach Justin Langer is taking a break and will not travel to India, where his senior assistant Andrew McDonald will lead the side in the three-match series ODI series, starting January 14. The 38-year-old McDonald will be in charge of the national men's side for the first time and Langer is confident the former medium pacer will excel in his new role.
"I said to him this morning, 'we're not reinventing the wheel'. He's got a really good opportunity," Langer was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald. "I'm so confident in our coaching staff now with the cricket side of things. A lot of the time now I think about the cricket 30 per cent of the time, the rest of the time all the other stuff that goes with it: the bigger picture, the cultural stuff," Langer added. After completing a 3-0 home Test series sweep over New Zealand, Australia are slated to travel to India for a three match ODI series starting with the first game in Mumbai followed by a two Test series in Bangladesh.
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"He's an excellent coach, we've got other excellent coaches to back him up. I said to him I won't ring him, I'll let him go. He said 'I might ring you', that's the difference. He'll do a really good job," Langer said. Australia have enjoyed complete domination in their home this summer with clinical Test series sweeps over Pakistan (2-0) and New Zealand (3-0). Langer, who took charge of Australia in May 2018 in the wake of the sandpaper controversy, hinted minimal changes in the side. "We had our review of the summer earlier this morning, and what's interesting and relevant is the continuity of the team as much as the balance of the team," Langer said on Tuesday ahead of the ODI team's departure for India later this week.
"We've been able to keep the guys together. We've obviously got an excellent fast bowling attack, we've got the best off-spinner in the world (Nathan Lyon), we've got two of the best batsmen who have played for Australia (David Warner and Steve Smith) and ¿ Tim Paine is the best wicketkeeper in the world," Langer said. Although happy with his side's performance, the 49-year-old insisted everyone is working on making the side a "great cricket team". "When you have all those bases covered, it means you've got a very good cricket team. We're still working towards having a great cricket team, but we've got a very good cricket team at the moment," Langer said.
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