Tim Paine affirms support for Langer as Australia coach after 'robust' discussions

Paine said everyone including Langer is on the same page and Australia can not wait to get started on T20 World Cup and Ashes' preparations with the coach.

Melbourne:Australia Test skipper Tim Paine has said the senior players of the team had "robust conversations" with Justin Langer in the last few days and the team is looking forward to the next packed six months with the head coach.

Langer's role as a coach has come under the scanner after Australia's disappointing loss to Bangladesh in the T20I series. The side had also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to India at home.

"There's no hiding from it, it's been a tough week, certainly for Justin Langer than it has been for anyone else. We've had some really robust conversations among our leaders in the last few days and we're really looking forward to the next six months with JL," Paine said.

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"We're looking forward to the World Cup, we're looking forward to the Ashes, it's an exciting period for any cricketer. If anything, I think we're heading into that tournament and series even more galvanised and even more together.

"It was important that myself, Aaron Finch, Pat Cummins, and the leaders of Australian cricket got around him, discussed things that needed to be discussed, and then got around him and supported him and looked to move forward," he added.

Earlier this week, Cricket Australia (CA) came out in support of Langer following question being asked as to whether the former opening batsman's coaching style is relevant for the Aussies.

Paine said everyone including Langer is on the same page and Australia can not wait to get started on T20 World Cup and Ashes' preparations with the coach.

"There's no doubt the week has been difficult for him, but as I said the last few days, we've been able to galvanise around him, to have some really robust discussions on where we want to take this cricket team, what we expect of him and what he expects of us," said Paine.

"The T20 World Cup and the Ashes are probably two of the biggest things that any Australian cricket and any Australian coach want's to be a part of and we're all on the same page and can't wait to get started on both of those huge projects for us," he added.

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The Australia skipper termed constant scrutiny of Langer in the past one week as "a bit of shame".

"It's just been a bit of shame, I think, in the last week that a lot of the failings around Australian cricket have been pinned on JL. That's certainly not the case," said Paine.

"We haven't lived up to our own standards on the field. We haven't won enough games of cricket and that's pretty much put us all under pressure," he added.

ANI