Bizarre! Justin Langer Blames England For ‘Heartbroken Kids, Wasted Food’ In Perth | Cricket News

Ben Stokes’ England is now 0-1 down in the five-Test series (Picture credits: AP)

Former Australia head coach Justin Langer has accused England of showing a ‘lack of respect’ towards the pitch conditions, their Ashes rivals, and Test cricket itself in the first match of the series at the Perth Stadium, which ended in two days. But that’s not it, he blamed them for leaving kids ‘heartbroken’ because they couldn’t see the third day’s action, and also for the huge losses in food prepared for the remaining three days.

England and Australia were both equally poor on the opening day of the Ashes, losing 19 wickets between them. The visitors started the second innings with a 30-run lead, and although the pitch had eased by then, their poor, aggressive shot selection led to another collapse. Australia needed only 205 runs to win, which they achieved in under 29 overs, led by Travis Head’s century that finished it all before Stumps on Day 2.

“For the England cricket team, this is a disaster,” he wrote in the West Australian. “Having been in front for a lot of the game, their lack of respect for the conditions, their opponent and the game of five-day cricket has cost them in this instance. Missed opportunities tend to keep you awake at night. In the bigger picture, it is not only England that bear the cost of a two-day Test match. What about the kid who misses the opportunity to watch their first day of Test cricket at Optus Stadium?” he added.

“In the last 24 hours I have heard three stories of heartbroken kids, robbed of the dream of seeing their heroes live. The health of the game is inherently linked with kids falling in love with it. Without that, the game is unsustainable. Two-day Tests are three days of missed opportunities for those kids to fall in love with the game. Friends of mine are in that category. We have been talking about day three of the Perth Test for six months. They are shattered,” Langer said.

Langer said the two-day Test hurt the wages of several staff while also impacting the money that could have been used for grassroots cricket.

“The 2,000 casual staff who miss out on working a shift on Sunday. Let’s not forget them… most will be disappointed and missing out on their much-needed wages Their employers at Optus Stadium bear the brunt as much as anyone. They, Cricket Australia and the broadcasters lose millions of dollars. Day three, a Sunday, will cost CA and the stadium around $10 million [about £5 million] in ticket and food and beverage sales. That’s a lot of money that goes back into grassroots cricket. The hundreds and thousands of dollars’ worth of wasted food prepared to service the 50,000 patrons is a travesty.”