Australia coach Langer gets Hall of Fame honour

By Sports Desk January 27, 2022

Australia coach Justin Langer has been honoured with an induction into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Langer, along with former Australia women's captain Raelee Thompson, was announced as an inductee on Thursday by the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Committee, together with Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA).

Former opening batsman Langer has been Australia's coach since May 2018, and has overseen two Ashes series, including the 4-0 thrashing of England over the past two months.

However, he seems set to leave his post at the expiration of his contract in June.

Langer made his Test debut for Australia in 1993 and went on to accumulate 7,696 runs at an average of 45.27 and a strike rate of 54.22 across 182 innings.

His highest score in the longest format was 250, while he scored 23 centuries in total.

Thompson, meanwhile, is seen as one of the pioneers of women's cricket. She played 16 Tests and 23 ODIs for Australia between 1972 and 1985 and was captain on four occasions and is the oldest player to have taken a maiden five-for in Test cricket when she did so at the age of 39 years and 175 days.

"Honouring inductees to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is an important and special moment for the sport," said Nick Hockley, chief executive of CA. 

"Justin and Raelee are extremely deserving inductees and it is wonderful to acknowledge and celebrate the immense achievements and contributions of these legends of our game.

"Justin has had a tremendous impact on Australian cricket, both at the top of the order alongside Matthew Hayden, as a coach of Western Australia and more recently as head coach of the Australian men's team.

"Raelee has been a leader and champion of cricket as a sport for women and girls through an incredible period of evolution, both as a proud player and captain of her country and continuing that passion towards ensuring that the game continues to progress and flourish for future generations."

Langer and Thompson are the 58th and 59th inductees into the Hall of Fame.

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