New Cricket Australia chair Lachlan Henderson to lead Justin Langer review and BBL evaluation

Earl Eddings' permanent successor has outlined his vision for the future which includes looking at the process around the departure of the T20 World Cup and Ashes-winning coach

Lachlan Henderson, Cricket Australia's new permanent chair, will lead an evaluation of the process that led to Justin Langer's departure as men's head coach earlier this month.

After guiding the team to a maiden T20 World Cup triumph and a 4-0 Ashes win over England in recent months, Langer resigned after being offered a mere six-month extension.

He cited having lost the support of players, support staff and members of the CA board in his departure letter.

A decision over his future had been delayed until after the World Cup and Ashes series while details regarding meetings with Langer and between the board had played out in the media.

Henderson, the third CA chair in five months after Earl Eddings stood down in October and Richard Freudenstein's interim spell at the helm, will make reviewing the episode among his priorities.

"It got messy in terms of things playing out in the media," he said. 

^{Langer resigned earlier this month after feeling his position was untenable (Daniel Pockett/Getty Imags)}

"But the board's role was to receive recommendations from management. We made our decision based on that. 

"With any significant decision like that boards should reflect on that process that was involved. 

"It is unfortunate that a bit of that played out in the media, and we will reflect on whether that should have been accelerated through the summer."

The Epworth HealthCare chief executive and Western Australia Cricket Association director and chair wants to rebuild relationships with players and is also planning to appoint an ethics commissioner during his first period in charge.

There will also be an immediate examination of the men's Big Bash League. Though viewing figures remain respectable - the 2021/22 season saw an average of 630,000 tune into matches - they are a shadow of the 1.1 million that turned on in 2016.

That return is set against what many believe to be a bloated 56-game regular season, the absence of Australia internationals and the inability to regularly lure the biggest overseas names.

^{The BBL faces an off-season examination (Kelly Defina/Getty Images)}

"The first step in the Big Bash renewal is the strategy," Henderson said. "The actual structure of the Big Bash and any changes like that are not on our agenda at the moment. We will look at what's the best for cricket.

"It's a really important product for our states and their financial capacity as well and obviously for our players, we'll be engaging with them as well.

"It's not about a complete overhaul. We have a great product. But we're doing it to renew and refresh the BBL.

"There'll be a consideration around the length of the season, also the duration of the season.

"I think they'll all really be important considerations as we look at the Big Bash and we'll consult widely with those involved in the product, our states, our players, our partners, our broadcast partners, and we'll work out what's the best way forward."

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