Pat Cummins and wife Becky look stressed after Justin Langer called him a ‘coward’

Pat Cummins cut a far from relaxed figure after being spotted for the first time since Justin Langer’s explosive allegations about his exit from the Australian cricket team.

In an interview with Australian media, Langer hit out at leaks within the dressing room, delayed feedback from senior players and the Cricket Australia board.

He also claimed those who campaigned for his removal as head coach were cowards and insisted the majority of players supported him. 

Pat Cummins (L) and his wife Becky (R) appeared stressed after being spotted in Sydney

‘Everyone was being nice to my face but I was reading about this stuff,’ Langer said.

‘A lot of journalists use the word ‘source’. I would say, change that word to ‘coward’.

‘Because what do you mean a source says?

‘They’ve either got an axe to grind with someone and they won’t come and say it to your face, or they’re just leaking stuff for their own agenda.’

And on Wednesday, the Australian Test and ODI captain was spotted for the first time since Langer’s latest claims came to light, going for lunch at a trendy Sydney cafe on Bronte Beach with his wife, Becky.

While he was tucking into his meal, Becky was seen with her hand covering her face as the pair appeared stressed in the wake of the bombshell news.

Referring to his relationship with Cummins, Langer said he was often frustrated by his captain’s lack of openness.    

Cummins was the recipient of scathing criticism from Justin Langer in a recent interview

Langer was unimpressed by Cummins’ communication skills during his time as head coach

‘I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, ‘This might be brutally honest’,’ Langer recalled.

‘I said, ‘Pat, there is nothing brutal about your feedback. What is brutal is I’m hearing it behind my back through the media or through sources’.

‘No one’s telling me. Tell me.

‘People say that I’m very intense, but they’re mistaking intensity with honesty.’

Langer said his situation was akin to a player wanting to improve in one format, starring in it, and then being axed because the coaches liked someone else better regardless.

He also hit out at dressing room leaks having been axed from the team earlier this year

‘The hardest thing for me of all of it was: I got the feedback (and) I did something about it,’ Langer said.

‘We won the T20 World Cup, we won the Ashes. We were No.1 in the world … And I’ve still got sacked.

‘You can’t give someone feedback, do something about it, and then that to happen.’

This isn’t the first time in recent months that Cummins actions have been at the centre of controversy over the Australian team.  

The captain recently came under fire for actions off the field when it was revealed he had complained about major sponsor Alinta Energy.

Despite the power giant being the team’s biggest backer since 2018, Cummins had refused to participate in any future TV adverts due their climate record which he raised with CEO Nick Hockley before it was announced their $40million sponsorship agreement would only be renewed for another year.

Fans turned on the skipper who drives a fossil-fuelled Range Rover and flies first class around the world, but sees himself as a climate warrior.