Australia’s limited overs captain Aaron Finch has backed interim coach Andrew McDonald to become Justin Langer‘s full-time successor, saying the former all-rounder has the respect of the playing group.
McDonald assumed a larger role within Australia’s locker room in the lead-up to the team’s maiden T20 World Cup win last year, with Langer taking a back seat.
In the wake of Langer’s exit after almost four years at the helm, McDonald has been widely expected to be named Australia’s next full-time coach.
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McDonald’s calm approach is a stark contrast to Langer’s style and is seen to be much more player-friendly.
“He brings a lot of respect from the players,” Finch said of McDonald’s credentials.
“He has a calm approach. He’s someone who never seems to get flustered by any situation or result. It’s all about the process and making sure that your attention to detail and your preparation and your planning is 100 per cent.
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“He brings a really good attitude around the group. He’s been with the team for quite a while now. It’s exciting times.”
Finch was a teammate of McDonald’s during the latter’s playing career, with the pair sharing the Victorian locker room together, before McDonald coached the Aussie skipper at state level and for the Melbourne Renegades in the BBL.
Despite backing McDonald, Finch made sure to pay tribute to the job Langer had done since taking over as coach in 2018, one he labelled “amazing”.
“As a playing group we couldn’t thank him enough and I know personally, the amount of work he’s done for me as a batter, as a person, as a leader has been fantastic,” he said.
Finch touched on a meeting he had with then-Test captain Tim Paine and current Test skipper Pat Cummins back in August regarding Langer’s intense coaching style.
“We sat down in August and talked through all of that about things to improve and gave our feedback,” Finch said.
“That was as much conversation that I’ve really had about it all. Like Pat said yesterday, it’s not our decision to be made but we gave all our feedback along the way and we’ve got to move on from all that now and start with the Australian cricket team hopefully winning this series.”
Finch and Australia’s T20 side will be in action for the first time since it’s World Cup triumph when it faces Sri Lanka in Game 1 of a five-match series at the SCG on Friday.