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MELBOURNE. — Australia cricket coach Justin Langer admitted yesterday he feels like a “director of a soap opera” as speculation grew around the future of banned Steve Smith and David Warner.

Debate about the pair reared again during the third Test against India in Melbourne, after Smith and Cameron Bancroft gave television interviews about the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March.

Their comments were widely interpreted as deflecting all blame onto Warner, with some former players slamming them for unnecessarily dredging it back up on Boxing Day, the most revered day in the Australian cricket calendar.

Australia’s woeful batting in the match, which they lost by 137 runs, also focused attention on how much Smith and Warner were missed.

Langer, who has previously described the Australia team as a “dysfunctional family”, said the headlines were yet another headache.

“It’s all just part of the soap opera we’re in every day,” he said in Melbourne before heading to Sydney for Thursday’s fourth and final Test, with India leading the series 2-1.  “I feel like a director of a soap opera at the moment, I honestly do.

“Coaching is about man management and looking after people, caring for people, and that was just another distraction last week,” he added. — AFP