'Uneasy': Justin Langer in reported argument after series defeat
Australian cricket coach Justin Langer and team manager Gavin Dovey were reportedly involved in a heated argument with a Cricket Australia staff member in the wake of the team's recent series loss to Bangladesh.
A video of the Bangladesh team singing their team song after their first ever series victory over Australia which was posted to Cricket Australia's social media channels is believed to have sparked the argument.
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According to The Age's Daniel Cherny, the pair had seperate confrontations with a member of Cricket Australia's digital media team.
The arguments took place in the team hotel, and were reportedly witnessed or overheard by roughly a dozen other players and staff.
Some players were left feeling 'uneasy' about the situation.
The initial clash came when Dovey confronted the CA staffer about the video, and escalated when the staffer stood their ground over the issue.
Langer then had a separate conversation with the staffer a short time later.
Responding to the reports, Dovey said on Thursday that the situation was simply a respectful disagreement.
“A healthy team environment includes the ability to have honest and frank discussions, whether it be between players, support staff or others within the team environment, which was the case here,” Dovey said.
“There was a difference of opinion and we agreed to disagree on a particular matter. In hindsight, it was one of those instances which should have taken place in private. I take full ownership of that.”
Langer did not comment on the reports.
Off-field strife comes amid woeful Bangladesh series
Acting captain Matthew Wade says Australia's batsmen must improve against spin bowling after his team were dismissed for their lowest Twenty20 international total in a humiliating loss to Bangladesh.
Chasing Bangladesh's 8-122, Australia lost 8-24 to be bowled out for 62 in just 13.4 overs and crash to a 60-run defeat in their series' fifth and final match in Dhaka on Monday.
Australia's previous lowest score was 79 against England in Southampton in 2005 in just the second T20I played.
The 4-1 series loss was the same result as last month's T20I games in the West Indies.
Australia have lost five successive T20I series and won just six of their last 21 matches.
Apart from Mitchell Marsh (156 runs at 31.20), no Australian scored more than 57 runs in the Bangladesh series.
Australia was missing seven established players including Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and David Warner while captain Aaron Finch missed much of the tour with a knee injury.
"Tonight was not good enough for an Australian cricket team regardless of the personnel we've got here," Wade said.
Wade - who made just 20 runs in the first four games - top scored on Monday with a run-a-ball 22 with slow bowler Shakib Al Hasan (4-9) and Mohammad Saifuddin (3-12) Bangladesh's chief destroyers.
With AAP
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