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Langer work ethic will help Australia – Border

by Wisden Staff 1 minute read

Former Australia captain Allan Border has thrown his weight by new head coach Justin Langer.

Border was Langer’s first Test skipper and is a big fan of the former Western Australia coach.

“It’s a holistic approach with Justin – he develops the cricketer and the person. That’ll be good for the team,” Border told cricket.com.au.

“He’s also a hard-nosed, very competitive fella. Western Australia Cricket has flourished under his stewardship and he’s earned his stripes through some very successful years there.

“Through his own playing career, he’s got a good insight into what it takes – he wasn’t the most naturally gifted player but he got everything out of his talent.

“He’ll also bring work ethic to the table.”

Langer told the press he intended his Australia to play an aggressive form of cricket whilst also addressing behavioural issues thrown into the spotlight in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.

Langer said: “I was brought up under Bob Simpson and Allan Border – I still get nervous saying their names, they were that tough.

“They demanded excellence on and off the cricket field, and we played hard.

“The (Australian) public will be disappointed if we don’t play good, hard, competitive cricket.

“That said, we can also modify our behaviours a bit so it’s not angry, not over-aggressive, but we’re certainly aggressive in the mindset we play with the bat and the ball.”

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