Boon or bust?
Article from the ACB's Australia vs India Test series guide
(I bought the magazine and typed out the article, but you should still purchase the magazine because there's stacks of other great cricket info in it...and no, I'm not just saying that so I don't get into trouble for copying the article :)
By Michael Hoban
After much trial and error, the successor to David Boon's reign at first drop for Australia is only now becomming clear.
Three summers ago, David Boon retired from Test cricket, leaving the game with a glittering record and a reputation as one of the finest batsmen in the post-war era.
There is not argument about that. Australia's fourth highest run scorer, his 7422 runs at an average of 43.66 and no less than 21 centuries attest to his greatness.
But when the squat little Tasmanian walked away after the Third test against Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval, he suddenly left Australian cricket with a worrisome legacy. For the first time in almost a decade, there was a 'situation vacant' sign attached to the coveted No. 3 batting spot in the national team.
In 37 Test matches since, the No. 3 slot has changed 8 times as five players have had one, two or even three attempts to claim long term occupancy.
Ricky Ponting was the first to follow Boon, but after 4 Tests was replaced by WA left-hander Justin langer. Langer lasted only 2 Tests and was dumped for Greg Blewett, who in turn was replaced by matthew Elliot.
Three Tests later, Blewett was recalled for 3 more attempts. Then he was replaced by Mark Waugh for one innings before reclaiming it for 2 more Tests. The Australian selectors then again reshuffled the order and gave Langer another crack at it by picking him for the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last year.
Langer, by admission, has a burning passion to make the No. 3 sppot his own. By the end of this summer he may well have gone a long way towards achieving Boon-like longevity.
In terms of cricket survival, Langer has emerged from a near-death experience. Indeed, after his recall in Pakistan, he is out to prove to himself and the rest of the cricket world he is not the type to go quietly.
He was out first ball at Rawalpindi and didn't get a bat in the second dig as Australia wond by an innings and 99 runs. He then had to wait a fortnight to face his moment of truth in the Second Test at Peshawar.
'I had two weeks in between knocks and the demons in my mind were at work,' the amible West Australian recalls.
'I felt I was just not ready to go back and play Sheffield Shield and County cricket. I knew my career was on the line; I had worked so hard to get back into the side.
'It had been stop-start all my career and I didn't want to go back and be a Sheffield Shield cricketer all my life.'
So it was that Langer found himself striding to the crease at Peshawar, the first ball LBW to Wasim Akram in his previous dig prominant in his thoughts and an anxious speed demon in Shoaib Akhtar fidgeting at his bowling mark, itching to give the Australian a golden farwell from test cricket.
A few moments later Langer stood frozen at the crease, awaiting a death sentence. In his own words, he felt like he was drowning.
He hads been beaten and wrapped on the pads. Amid shrieking Pakistani appeals he stood and stared 22 yards ahead while the slowest decision making umpire on the planet, Steve Bucknor, mulled over his sole right to be judge, juror and executioner.
'It was probably just as close as the one I was out for in the First Test,' Langer reflects.
'It was like that feeling when some one holds your head under water. remember, Steve takes an aweful long time to give some one out. When he finally shook his head it was like a massive gasp of fresh air. I got a really fast bouncer from Akhtar next ball, but right there was teh change in my Test career. I got going, I got sharp and it has gone OK since then.'
Langer smashed 116 that day amid a 279-run second -wicket stand with his captain Mark Taylor, enjoying a close up view of the first part of Taylor's memorable, record equalling 334 not out.
In the third Test he backed up with a half century in karachi to earn his place in the side for last summer's Ashes series.
Fittingly it was in Adelaide - where Boon had bid Adieu - that Langer scored 179 not out and 52 to further lay claim to the spot.
'Boony was teh benchmark for me. I played with him and always aspired to do what he did,' Langer admits openly.
'The Chappells had a great influence on Australian cricket and I think Allan Border spent a bit of time at No 3. guess Border and Boon are the guys I based my game on - they are the guys I want to be like; they are the two who stand out in my mind.'
The Adelaide Test was also another test of pressure. Langer had missed out in the first innings in Brisbane and twice in the second Test in Perth, giving the media fuel to again question his worthiness as the Australian No 3.
The West Indies followed and the feisty, super-fit Langer stood up when Australia needed it, clouting 51 and 127 in the final Test in Antigua, which Australia won to level the series.
Suddenly there is the continuity he has yearned for and, with it, self beleif. He has batted at 3 in Australia's last 16 Tests, scoring 3 of the only 4 centuries made at that spot since Boon's retirement.
Langer's self doubt has vanished, and in its place is a sober respect for the job he says he or nobody else can claim as his own. Not even Boon.
'The demons have gone from that point of view,' he says of his confidence to extend his career beyond 24 tests.
'A few Tests ago I got 100 in Antigua and had a really good season in County cricket again. I know can bat, but I also know the pressure is on. It's a priveliged position playing for Australia, it's that simple.
'There are a lot of good players out there and you've just got to be on your toes all the time, retain the edge all the time. I feel confident about playing Test cricket, but its a matter of continually performing,' Langer said.
'That's why I admire players like Steve Waugh who just keeps doing it over and over. That's my ambition. To find the best way to have consistancy.'
Even then, Langer acknowledges batting three for Australia can be earned, justified, but never taken for granted. A man who almost drowned knows that.
Please email me if you find any articles or interviews that I could include on this site
. Images . Audio . Video . Bio . Stats . Rating . News . Schedule . Archive . Articles . Writing . Screensaver . Wallpaper . Fanclub . Tribute . Guestbook . Polls . 1Day campaign . Autograph . Results . JL camp . Buy JL . Links .
