JUSTIN Langer’s long wait to be named Australia’s head coach has finally come to an end.

The former Test opener was officially named Darren Lehmann’s replacement in the men’s team on Thursday.

It’s right reward for six outstanding years with Western Australia, in which the state made its presence felt in all forms of domestic cricket and made itself a nursery for the next generation of Australia players. As CA boss James Sutherland pointed out following Langer’s appointment, Western Australia has more players on the current list of CA contracted players than any other state.

In CA’s media release announcing Langer’s appointment, the 47-year-old described his selection as “humbling.” Daunting may be a better description of the task facing Langer across his next four years in charge.

We look at the burning questions to come out of Langer’s appointment.

HOW WILL HE SORT OUT THE TEAM HE’S INHERITING?
The team Langer is inheriting from Lehmann is nothing like the one he would have imagined. The side sits third in Tests and fifth in one-day internationals. More pressingly there are serious holes in the team’s top order, with rookie opener Cameron Bancroft and the side’s two best batsmen, Steve Smith and David Warner, serving lengthy bans over the Cape Town ball-tampering saga.

Finding a way to cover those gaps is imperative. Matthew Renshaw and Joe Burns will be doing him a massive favour is they can maintain their red-ball form from the end of the Sheffield Shield, but it’s going to take contribution from No.1 to 11 to make up for Smith’s absence. Getting the best out of Usman Khawaja, the last remaining member of the top four, should also be a priority.

Further complicating matters is question marks over Australia’s greatest asset — it’s bowling attack. Mitchell Starc (leg) and Pat Cummins (back) are both sidelined through injury right now. It remains unknown whether either quick will be fit to play in Australia’s next series in England in June, with both men ruled out of the Indian Premier League. Mitchell Marsh has already been ruled out of that series after having surgery to remedy a sprained ankle.

The coach believes this is an opportunity rather than a problem.

“One thing I know is that if you want sustained success you need depth,” Langer said. “This next 11 months or so gives a couple of guys or a few people to even make us stronger and add to the depth.

“You can build the depth and then you’ve got some great players coming back in, that’s a pretty exciting time.”

HOW CAN HE CHANGE AUSTRALIA’S CRICKET CULTURE?
On top of rebuilding the team itself, Langer has been tasked with changing the side’s culture and winning back the faith of the Australian public.

There are currently two reviews being conducted into the culture of Australian cricket. One is an all-encompassing examination being led by the Ethics Committee which will consider issues spanning Cricket Australia governance and issues in Australian cricket itself.

The other is into the culture of the men’s team itself, and Langer will be involved heavily in this one as a part of Rick McCosker’s seven-person panel.

He is uniquely placed to contribute to this matter, having played so long for Australia and also led a cultural shake-up of Western Australia cricket when he became the state’s head coach in 2012. He famously had heart-to-hearts with both Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh, telling them to shape up or ship out, and made it a team mantra that you had to be not just a good cricketer, but a good person. It’s a key part of Langer’s coaching philosophy and it’s why the book “No Asshole Rule” sits proudly on his desk directly facing anyone who visits his office.

At the same time, the culture Langer will be looking to change is largely to do with how Australia conducts itself on the field. What happens over the next 12 months as Australia strives to find the balance between playing competitive cricket and maintaining high behavioural standards on the field.

“I think the public will be disappointed if we don’t play good, hard, competitive cricket,” Langer said. “That said, we can also modify our behaviours.”

WHY IS HE COACHING ALL THREE FORMATS?
When CA first started its hunt for a new coach all reports pointed to the role being split by format. Given the increasingly packed international cricket schedule and the demands that go with coaching the national team, it appeared a logical step. Ricky Ponting in particular was shaping up as a contender for the Twenty20 role given the success Australia enjoyed while he was Darren Lehmann’s deputy in this year’s tri-series.

Instead, Langer has wound up head coach of all three formats. Given the need to drive cultural change in the Australian team, he believes it is imperative one person is in charge of what is happening.

“Someone has got to oversee it,” he said, “ ... particularly if you’re looking at the culture and setting some parameters, certainly in the short term ... because we don’t want to have splits. We don’t want to have different messages.”

WHAT ARE HIS TASKS OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS?
Two Ashes series, World Cup and World Twenty20 campaigns are the biggest things on the horizon but Langer has signposted Australia’s next tour of India as the one that matters most. He is intent on this Australian team going down as one of the greats and he knows success in all conditions is key to forming that legacy.

“The Indian Test tour in about three of four years’ time, to me that’s the ultimate because we will judge ourselves on whether or not we’re a great cricket team if we beat India in India,” he said, “I look back on my career and the Mt Everest moment was 2004 when we finally beat India in India.”

Australia will get a crack at India this summer when Virat Kohli’s men come down under. Before he the leads the side at home however he has a limited-overs tour of England, a tri-series in Zimbabwe and Tests against Pakistan series in the UAE to worry about.