Australia batsman Steve Smith has hailed the impact of coach Justin Langer, saying he is an ideal guy to have around a dressing room.
“Absolutely, I think he’s (Langer) done a terrific job over the last couple of years, I wasn’t there the first year, but since I’ve been back I think he’s done a great job. He always wants to get better and that’s all you can ask of anyone in the setup, whether it be a player or a coach, as long as you’re striving to improve every day, then that’s all you can ask,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Smith as saying.
“That kind of thing [split coaching] has been floated for a while for different formats and different teams and things like that around the world, not just Australia, so I think it’d be interesting. But Justin’s got my full support at the moment, I think he’s doing a terrific job and he has done for a few years, and I can’t see it changing anytime soon,” he added.
Australia’s disappointing show against India in the Test series has seen many spots come under the scanner and according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, senior players find former all-rounder and assistant coach Andrew McDonald more approachable than Langer. However, Smith has given no such indication and he was gone on singing praises of the current coach of the Australian side.
Smith was not in good form in the first two Tests against India, but he made a comeback in the third Test as he went on to score a century at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The Indian team employed different tactics to him as the visitors completely blocked off the run-scoring on the leg-side.
“Teams are starting to attack me a little bit differently or bowl to me a little bit differently, so I’ve had to make small adjustments. At times I’ve had to be perhaps a little more aggressive than I have been in the past. I think I did that pretty well in the last two Test matches here and just coming up with some different plans and different scoring options but continuing to also play the game in front of me,” said Smith.
“There are times in Test cricket where you’ve got to absorb pressure, a time when you’ve got to put the pressure back on the bowlers and try and get on top of them, and I did that well in the last two games, perhaps not as well in the first two of the summer. I felt I learned a bit out of the first two games that I could improve on at the back end. Teams have different plans to me and I’ve got to keep working on my game and I love doing that, I love working hard and finding new ways to do things and getting better,” he added.