Former legendary Australian opener Justin Langer is celebrating his 53rd birthday today. When Australian cricket ruled the world cricket Langer was one of the strong pillars of the team, especially in test cricket. As an opener, his partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most important factors behind Australia’s unprecedented success in test cricket.
The Beginning
Justin Langer made his international debut for Australia in test cricket. In 1993 he made his test debut against the West Indies at Adelaide. He was very soon inducted into the ODI team as well. The next year he went on to make his debut in the One-Day cricket against Sri Lanka. His spot in the team always remained on a thin thread but his performance was always top-notch, particularly in test cricket.
The Overview
Justin Langer did not play much in white ball cricket for Australia but the batter from Perth had a sterling career in test cricket. Langer could only play 8 One-Day internationals for Australia where he scored 160 runs at an average of 32.
But his test career achieved heights proportionate to his potential. Justin Langer played 105 test matches where he scored 7696 runs at an average of 45.27. In those test matches, he made 23 centuries and 30 half-centuries. He had 3 double centuries as well in his test career which he made against England, India, and New Zealand. His career-best figure of 250 came against arch-rivals England.
His legacy got even richer when he became the coach of the Australian team and carried the team through a phase of turmoil after the sandpaper tragedy. In his leadership, Australia drew the Ashes in England and won the Ashes in Australia, in an unprecedented manner. Not just as a player but as a coach as well he played an instrumental role in the natural progression of Australian cricket. His experience can still come in handy for Australian cricket whenever any adversity comes around.