Langer has fond Caribbean memories

Cricket365
June 5, 2016

Australia caretaker-coach Justin Langer, has reflected on fond memories of touring the Caribbean ahead of a brief tour in the West Indies.

Langer will coach Australia in a triangular series against hosts the West Indies, and arch-rivals South Africa, giving head coach, Darren Lehmann, a much needed break from a hectic travel schedule. The former Australian opener has spoken to cricket.com.au about his fondest memories of touring the islands, saying: "So many lessons for me as a young player were learned about leadership and about being part of the Australian cricket team. We finally won back the Frank Worrell Trophy after a long time."

The Perth Scorchers' Coach first toured the Caribbean in 1995, and describes the unforgettable moment when Steve Waugh faced off with enormous fast bowler Curtly Ambrose: "I remember Steve Waugh standing up to Curtly Ambrose in Trinidad and he almost assumed the captaincy or leadership of Australian cricket from that moment, even though he was an untitled leader at the time."

The former opening batsman has previously gone to great lengths to assure the media and fans that this tour is not a trial run for him as head coach, and he has repeated that sentiment, saying: "I don't see it as an audition, I see it as an experience and a great opportunity,"

Langer will be looking at this tour as a learning experience, not only for the players, but also himself, commenting: "There's no doubt I'll learn lessons and I've said since day one that I’m still a novice coach, even though I feel like I've been doing it for a long time, and hopefully in 15 years I will still say I'm a novice coach because having that mindset means I'll always keep learning."

The Western Australia coach has been ear-marked as a successor for coach Darren Lehmann but while he has called the Australia job a "natural progression" from his current position he has stressed that his post in Perth is his dream job right now.