Melbourne , December 28 : Justin Langer has no ambition to succeed Darren Lehmann in the foreseeable future despite accepting a caretaker role with the Australian one-day team in the West Indies in June.
Langer will take charge of Australia during a tri-series involving South Africa and the home team but said it was simply an opportunity to help and did not foreshadow any interest in the job permanently.
“It is just a caretaker role for a few weeks,” he said.
“I was asked if I was interested and I am happy to help out but it is nothing more than that.
“I hope Boof stays in the job for plenty more years because I love what I am doing in Western Australia and I have no intention of leaving.”
Lehmann said he had no immediate thoughts about retiring and suggested that defending the World Cup and winning the Ashes in England were pressing priorities.
But he acknowledged that he needed a break given that the West Indies tour would mark three years of virtually unbroken cricket since he succeeded Mickey Arthur on the eve of the 2013 Ashes series.
It was apparent that he needed to get away from the day-to-day grind of overseeing the three national teams if he wanted to have longevity in the job.
“It is a tough job being away from home 300 days of the year,” Lehmann said.
“JL can have the reins for a while and it gives me the chance for a longer break.
“The England Ashes and one-day tour went for 4½ months and I was cooked by the end of it. You need to stay fresh.
“I hope this break will prolong my career, though I don’t have an end date in mind and I hope to keep going for a while yet.
“There are a few things that I want to tick off as a coach.”
Langer, who has won three domestic titles and helped the development of several international players since returning to the WACA after a period as Australian batting coach, will be the boss of the Australian team.
“JL will be totally in charge,” Lehmann said. “It will be his call what he wants to bring and that will be good for the players to hear some fresh ideas.”
Lehmann said Langer’s appointment was part of Cricket Australia’s philosophy to develop coaches as well as players from within the national system.
“You want to develop coaches below you and make sure they get opportunities,” he said.
Lehmann said players would benefit from listening to different coaches.
He expected Langer would find it a challenging transition in a parallel to a player being promoted from State cricket.
“It will be a big jump for him,” Lehmann said. “Communication is the biggest thing but JL will handle that easily.”