Jan 16, 2000

Wizard of Oz Cricket: Justin Langer is the motivator in the Aussie team By Pradeep Menon/Sydney

Just'in do it. A banner braving the ruthless Bellerive Oval winds at Hobart caught the attention of the 'Western Warrior' when he walked to the pitch with his team tottering at 126 for 5. The banner-writer indeed won a prize for his witty modification of Nike's slogan, 'Just do it', but the real winner at the end of the day was the 29-year-old Justin Lee Langer.

The Langers are a close-knit family (left, Justin celebrates Christmas at the Aussie team hotel with daughter Ally Rose and children of his teammates). Father Colin watches all the matches Justin plays in Australia.

The combative cricketer from Perth in the state of Western Australia, a place best known for its competitiveness, was involved in a partnership that helped Australia to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a run chase which is now described as the best on Australian soil. The Pakistanis had set a victory target of 369 on a difficult last-day wicket. But Langer and fellow Western Australian Adam Gilchrist took the battle back to the Pakistan camp with a scintillating counter-attack.

"I would call it a day for all ages," said Langer, when asked to relive that moment of glory. "The loss of our fighting skipper, Steve Waugh, and Bellerive's golden boy, Ricky Ponting, early in the match had dampened my enthusiasm for a Test victory, but I decided to fight like a wounded tiger to stave off a defeat."

Defeat is one word Langer has hated right through his life. According to his father Colin Langer, kid Justin was as combative a character as he is now. "Justin always believed in giving of his best at whatever he does," said Colin Langer. "He was good in his studies as well as in sports. He could never take defeat."

The fighter from Perth's Aquintas College, who has majored in English literature and economic and human biology, has researched a lot on methodologies that bring success, and is considered the success guru in Steve Waugh's 'Indomitables' (Don Bradman's team of 1948 was called the 'Invincibles'), who have won seven consecutive Tests. Small wonder then that Western Australians call him the 'success specialist'.

In his pursuit of success and personality development he obtained a black belt in karate. "The martial arts have boosted my self-confidence," said Langer, who was attracted to Buddhism during the Australian tour of Sri Lanka in 1997. "I met many Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka and was very impressed by their philosophy," he says. "Buddhism teaches you self-discipline which is very important in life as well as in cricket."

"Justin is a total cricketer," said former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck, who writes for the Sydney Morning Herald. "It is his grounding in martial arts that has made him so combative. The Indian cricketers should also be given training in martial arts if they are to face tough tours like Australia."

Langer has a great admirer in Steve Waugh, who pushed him into the Test eleven. When the Australian selection committee chaired by Allan Border was choosing players for the West Indies tour early last year, Steve openly campaigned for Langer, arguing that he was the best number three player in the country after David Boon's retirement. By this comment Steve was giving a message that the young Ricky Ponting was yet to be ready for the coveted batting slot.

Langer has not let Steve down. "If Steve asks me to run through the brick wall, I will do it for him," says Langer. "It is a great honour to play under him. Steve makes sure that we are very clinical about our performance. At Sydney, he only wanted us to bat once. Steve has very specific game plans and specific goals which helps the players."

"When you get a hundred it is the best time to carry on the batting,"
says Langer (on his way to the double century in Sydney).

A product of the Australian Cricket Academy (ACA), Langer had his grounding in the basics along with Shane Warne, Greg Blewett and Damien Martyn. "Langer has been the most successful along with Shane Warne though Damien Martyn was considered the best player among them," says Roebuck. The ACA chief and former Australian wicket keeper Rodney Marsh had all along been saying that Damien was the perfect number three player for Australia. But Steve did not think so.

Langer's only regret is that he could not complete graduation in arts from the University of Western Australia because of his getting selected to the ACA. A keen lover of literature, Langer is considered the best cricketer-writer in Australia now. "Writing allows me express myself fully," he says. "Right from my school days I had an inclination to writing. I am in love with literature. I prefer descriptive style of writing, and I do research on different styles of writing. As far as cricket writers are concerned, I like Peter Roebuck and Mike Coward for their flair."

Langer, who has a column called 'Langer Postcard' on the Website www.baggygreen.com.au, says he was first recognised as a poet when a few members of the Australian team in Zimbabwe took a train from Bulawayo to Harare for picking up some silly hats. When the train was moving through green outbacks, Langer took out his pen and scribbled a few motivational poems for his teammates. He has written a book, From Outback to Outfield, based on his experiences as a county cricketer for Middlesex, which has appointed him captain for the 2000 season.

Perseverance has been Langer's forte. He dedicates his double century (223) against India in Sydney to Australia's champion cross-country runner Bob Farmer, who, after having successfully run through the harshest Australian deserts, was invited to the Australian dressing room on the eve of the Sydney Test for a motivational talk. Langer was sitting in the first row. "His experiences made me think that we cricketers are on an easier terrain to achieve our goals," says Langer. "I told myself that all need is more application in the Test."

And his doggedness was there for all to see. Langer successfully tested the patience of the Indians though paceman Javagal Srinath had a jig at him. At the end of the second day, Srinath asked Langer to buy a lottery, for he was lucky to have been dropped at second slip by Dravid when he was 53. Langer, at his combative best, told the Indian paceman, "Bloke, surely we will win the lottery on the third day."

"If you had a good day at the crease today then you should make sure you have great day tomorrow," says Langer. "When you get a hundred it is the best time to carry on the batting. You should have the determination to cash in on the good days."

Langer's aggression has won him friends and enemies. He was warned by the match referee John Reid for gesticulating at Shoaib Akhtar after scoring every run at Hobart. "Oh, I picked up that habit from my father who was quite good in Australian Rules Football in his younger days," says Langer. But Langer has a lot of respect for Shoaib. "He is the fastest bowler in the world. I was having a pretty exciting contest with him. With every shot I was trying to boost my self-confidence."

Langer's initiation into cricket was through his uncle Robby Langer, who played for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and in Kerry Packer's World Series. Both Robby and Colin wanted Langer to get into the big league. "Dad built a pitch for me in the backyard. He and uncle Robby motivated me. Dad had played cricket at the club level in Western Australia. He played for the state baseball team, too."

Langer's heroes are Kim Hughes, Allan Border, David Boon and Steve Waugh. "I played a lot of backyard Test cricket with Hughes in my mind," says Langer. "He gave me the taste for this game."

That taste is total. Langer even took the lead in writing the motivational mottos on the scribbling board of the team's dressing room, a practice introduced by the new team coach John Buchanan. "The mottos I write there are from different philosophies of life," says Langer. "I lay a lot of emphasis to discipline."

The Langers are a close-knit family. Colin makes it a point to watch all the matches his son plays in Australia. (He was at Hobart when Langer scored that match winning 127 against Pakistan.) Brothers Adam and Jonathan and sister Jemmi too are cricket buffs. Married to Sue, Justin has two daughters, Jessica and Ally Rose.

The senior Langer is a successful entrepreneur. The son, too, loves the smell of money, Justin had worked with a stockbroking firm. Another love of his is gardening, on the pitch as well as in the kitchen backyard. But Langer also loves to talk, not write, about the Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar. "How I wish to describe Sachin on the video tape," he says. "It is a delight to watch his elegant and implicit batting. I think no writer till today has described Sachin's batting with the correct words."
Justin Langer always has the last word.

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