Australia appoint Andrew McDonald as interim head coach after Justin Langer’s surprise resignation

Cricket Australia on Saturday appointed former cricketer Andrew McDonald as the interim head coach after accepting the resignation of men’s team head coach Justin Langer.

Australian men’s cricket coach Justin Langer announced his surprise resignation early on Saturday, weeks after crushing archrivals England in the Ashes series and months after winning the country’s inaugural ICC T20 World Cup.

“Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept,” stated an official Cricket Australia release.

Andrew McDonald will step up into the role of interim head coach of our men’s national team, with official duties beginning with Australia’s upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/BW3j4PBPrf

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 5, 2022

The contract extension offered to Langer was the result of a thorough review process that evaluated many factors including future requirements of the team and the upcoming extensive schedule of fixtures.

“Andrew McDonald will step up into the role of interim head coach of our men’s national team, with official duties beginning with Australia’s upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka,” Cricket Australia tweeted.

The extension was approved by the CA Board and was put to Langer last night. It included the opportunity to defend the T20 World Cup title in Australia at the end of this year.

Langer informed CA this morning he was not accepting the offer and would resign with immediate effect.