Justin Langer

Western Australia has been known to produce battle-hardened cricketers blessed with mental strength and Justin Langer was no different. A fighter by nature, he was also quite un-Australian like in his modus operandi as a batsman. While most of them were unabashed in their strokeplay, Langer chose to take the old school process of digging in and wearing out the bowlers, forcing them to bowl spell after spell as he constructed his innings with utmost caution. Along with the gigantic Matthew Hayden, Langer went on to create one of the greatest opening partnerships in the game's history. It won't be wrong to say that there hasn't been an Australian opener like him before or after his playing days.

Langer rose to recognition after compiling truckload of runs in the Sheffield Shield right from his debut in the early 90s and was duly rewarded with a Test cap in 1993. The initial years were tough for the southpaw as he floated from the opening slot to no.3, depending on the form or fitness of other players in the side. As a result, the performances also fluctuated but his fortunes started changing once Steve Waugh became captain of the team. Waugh had immense belief in Langer's skills and the opener's redemption started from the 1998-99 season onwards. However, it was after Matthew Hayden's arrival as the opening partner that Langer started to peak fully.

Since then, there was no looking back for Langer as he stockpiled runs consistently over the years, including a insane 1400-plus runs in 2004 when he was at the height of his powers. Apart from being prolific, Langer also became more positive in intent as a batsman. Known for his cuts and pulls, he didn't hesitate using the aggressive approach and this was perhaps the effect of having a partner like Hayden whose positivity rubbed off on his partner. Langer's form never really dipped at any point, making the pundits believe that he could perhaps play on till the late 30s. However, that wasn't to be as injuries started hurting him, mainly the rib and hamstring.

Even as Langer was battling his body in 2005, he received another major jolt when a Makhaya Ntini bouncer crashed into him, causing a head cut and concussion as well. Although he did play after the incident to go past the laudable landmark of 100 Tests, Langer wasn't quite the same batsman. After a thorough skirmish within himself, he decided to call it quits post the victorious 2006-07 Ashes campaign at home. Since his retirement, Langer was been constantly involved in coaching jobs, primarily at Western Australia and has received accolades for the same. Tactically shrewd and well adept at man-management, there was an expectation that he would be the coach of the Australian team sooner than later. That came true in May 2018 when he succeeded Darren Lehmann as the new coach - post the sandpaper-gate scandal, which rocked the edifice of Australian cricket.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan