Justin Langer, the former Australian cricketer and current coach of London Spirit in this year’s Hundred, has shared critical insights regarding England’s approach ahead of the upcoming Ashes series against Australia. At 54, Langer certainly has the pedigree and track record, coming in with a broad set of perspectives. He has won four Ashes series as a player and five series as Australia’s coach, going unbeaten before standing down in early 2022.
England is hoping to avoid the winter teeth of that challenge. Langer challenges their mentality and pushes the squad to take a more attacking approach. He believes that to succeed in Australia, England must possess a “killer instinct” necessary to close out matches and series.
Langer was right to highlight that England’s won plenty of chances to win Test series worth against India and Australia in the last 12 months. He had some insightful analysis on the thrilling 2-2 tie with India earlier this summer. As he noted, the opportunities were obvious, and they just didn’t take advantage of them.
“It’s going to be a really, really close series. My question for England will be, have you got the killer instinct to finish off a series if you get a chance?” – Justin Langer
The former coach understood the value of an aggressive culture. He stated, “Call it Bazball or the aggressive approach, I think England must play that approach in Australia. No question, because it’ll put pressure back on.” This philosophy, plus his intuition that you need to be competitive when going up against a juggernaut like Australia, is reflected in his selection.
Langer had previously lauded Australia’s bowling attack as the world’s best. He pointed out the freakish form of Mitchell Starc and praised Josh Hazlewood for his insane consistency in averaging five high wickets. He went on to talk up the threat of Pat Cummins, predicting a “generational bowler” would make life difficult in this winter’s Ashes series.
Historically it has been a bad place for England, winning just one Ashes series there since 1987. Langer’s thoughtful observations underscore a necessary strategic and psychological shift. Without it, there is a real danger that England will never be able to jump this historical hurdle.
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