HAMILTON, NZ, April 3 AAP - Steve Waugh heaped one glowing line of praise on to the beaming face of Justin Langer today after the likeable left-hander ended his headlining season in the best way.

``He was down and out going into the Hobart Test (last November) and he's come away with four centuries,'' Waugh said.

``At the moment - today - he is the best batsman in the world.''

It was a short statement from a player not prone to exaggeration, but it fit Langer just as well as the old baggy green cap he wore during Australia's victory celebrations after the third Test win over New Zealand.

His unbeaten 122 from only 122 balls featured 19 boundaries, capping a gutsy season from the West Australian.

Since his stunning revival against Pakistan in Hobart, when he was probably batting for his Test future, Langer has rattled up runs at an astonishing rate.

The winning runs today pushed him to 1003 runs from Australia's 13-match Test season, spiced by the rousing 127 in Australia's comeback win over Pakistan in Hobart and his fluent 223 against India in Sydney.

``Over 1000 runs? That's sweet, isn't it,'' Langer said when he was told about the feat.

He returned the compliments to his captain when asked about his reversal in fortunes.

``A big part of it has been (Waugh's) faith in me,'' Langer said.

``That's why he's had such great success as a captain because he puts such faith in his players.

``And it's probably a confidence thing. If you're not overawed by playing Test cricket, and that becomes better with experience, and it's a matter of sticking to what you do best.

``You have to keep it simple and if you have a single-minded approach to your batting, there's no reason why you shouldn't have a lot of success.

``I've had the year I've had because of my philosophy of working hard and getting the rewards.''

Waugh even made a light-hearted reference to Langer's one-day future, which has been dormant since he played his last match against England at Lord's in 1997.

But with the rate Langer has scored this season, especially in New Zealand when he dominated the attack in stages, he has every reason to hope a one-day recall isn't far away.

``I'd love to play one-day cricket and I probably let myself down in domestic cricket last season,'' he said.

``I felt so far away so my motivation and my approach was a bit slack.

``If the opportunity came, there's no reason I couldn't play one-day cricket.''