David Warner says Cricket Australia “kicked Justin Langer in the face” before leaving the national team

David Warner claims Cricket Australia’s decision to only offer Justin Langer a six-month deal is a “kick in the face” while admitting the manager has lost several key players from the team.

The build-up and fallout from Langer’s departure as a coach last year is a focus of season two of the documentary The Test, which premieres on Prime Video on Friday.

Langer and Warner celebrate victory on day three of the fifth Test in the Ashes series last January. Now the batsman says Cricket Australia gave the coach a rough hand

Langer’s departure late last summer came after Cricket Australia (CA) raised concerns about the intensity of the manager at the end of his original four-year deal.

He was offered a new six-month contract with no prospect of renewal, which he promptly declined and resigned from.

Langer has since made his frustration with the situation clear, speaking out in several interviews and columns ahead of the start of the summer of testing.

Warner’s comments follow after Tim Paine also described the brief contract as “embarrassing,” “unprofessional” and “a disgrace” in his autobiography, claiming CA took it easy on himself because he knew Langer wouldn’t accept it.

“He wanted to keep training. It was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract,” Warner said in the documentary.

Regardless, Warner also disclosed the situation within the squad.

“He lost a few players, and probably the wrong players,” Warner said.

The documentary shows the players speaking openly about the Langer issue, and captain Pat Cummins told AAP this week he hopes he can provide context and take some of the heat out of ongoing public anger over the matter.

In the first episode of the series, Cummins says the players walked around the coach on eggshells, while Usman Khawaja reveals others were afraid of Langer.

Langer (pictured with Test skipper Pat Cummins during an Ashes Test in 2021) sidelined several players when he was a coach, Warner claims

Nathan Lyon admits he struggled with Langer’s up-and-down nature, with the former Test opener known for riding every ball.

Players also illustrate Langer’s significant influence in rebuilding after the ball-tampering scandal and reviving the national team’s public image.

But Cummins firmly believes the decision to leave Langer shouldn’t come as a shock.

“The Ashes, it all came to a head because his contract came through,” Cummins told viewers.

Happier days as Warner, Cummins, Lyon, Langer and the rest of the 2021/22 Australia Test team celebrate as they hammer England at home in The Ashes

“There was nothing unusual. We had talked about many of these things over the past 18 months to two years.

“He was brilliant when we needed him in those early years.”

Cummins and other players argued that after the 2020-21 home loss to India, the team wanted to create a more player-centric environment.

“The team had changed a lot over a four-year period,” Josh Hazlewood was quick to say.

“We probably needed a different support team and coach than four years ago when JL started.”