Justin
Langer profile & Biography, Australian Cricketer, Cricket
Australia, World Champions, Justin Langer the centurion, Best Cricketer
Australia.
Name
Justin Langer
Major Teams:
Australia, Western Australia.
Batting Style:Left Hand Bat
Bowling Style:
Right Arm Medium
Other:
Wicketkeeper
Test Debut:
Australia v West Indies at Adelaide, 4th Test, 1992/93
ODI Debut:
Australia v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Australasia Cup, 1993/94
First-Class Debut:
Western Australia v Victoria at Perth, 1991/92
Cricketing Profile:
Justin
Langer is perhaps the first Test opener in history to average in the
mid-forties yet still be forever scrabbling for his spot in the side. Or
at least that’s the perception: in a land of dashers and crashers
Langer is seen as a grafter, a battler, only ever a couple of failures
away from oblivion.
The reality is somewhat different. Yesteryear’s
ugly duckling is now a strokeplaying swan, racking up more Test hundreds
than those national treasures Doug Walters, Ian Chappell, Mark Waugh
and Bill Lawry, and scoring an eye-popping 1481 runs in 2004. Always an
effective cutter and driver, he now indulges in unseemly crossbat hoicks
from the first over. Together with his bludgeoning comrade Matthew
Hayden, they have screwed up textbooks and record-books alike, making
Greenidge and Haynes look like strokeless stonewallers. It is a
miraculous reinvention.
Clanged on the helmet by Ian Bishop on debut,
Langer fought on to make 54, but played only eight Tests in six years.
He returned at No. 3, as the selectors sought to mould him into the next
David Boon - and for a while he exceeded even those lofty ambitions.
After rescuing the unrescuable Hobart Test of 1999-2000 with Adam
Gilchrist, then slaughtering a blistering 122 in Auckland, Steve Waugh
called him the world’s best batsman. The feeling was mutual; Langer’s
devotion to Waugh saw him nicknamed 'Mini-Tugga'.
His bond with
Hayden is even closer. The pair miss each other when they’re apart,
exchange bearhugs in the middle, and give the impression always of two
boys living out a dream. Still the knockers persist, but they should
watch out: Langer may be short of stature but he is tall in enthusiasm
(he's already written two books) and boasts a black belt in taekwondo.
He has played only eight one-day internationals, something that bugs him
no end, despite a Gilchristian strike rate of 88.88. With Langer, you
see, perception is everything.
Biography
He
is the oldest of four children - his siblings being brothers, Adam and
Jonathan; and sister, Jemma. His father is a car-dealer and his mother
is a theatre-nurse.Coming from a devout Catholic family, he attended
Liwara Catholic School, before going to Aquinas College. Both schools
had a strong Catholic ethos. After graduating from high school, Justin
then moved on to the University of Western Australia where he majored in
English Literature, Economics and Human Biology. He has also done a lot
of research on methodologies that bring success, and is considered
'success specialist' in the Australian Cricket Team.
He
married his highschool sweetheart, Sue, on April 13, 1996, and they
have four beautiful daughters - Jessica (born in March, 1997), Ali-Rose
(November, 1998), Sophie (April, 2001) and Grace (November, 2005).
In
his pursuit of success and personality development Justin obtained a
black belt in karate. "The martial arts have boosted my
self-confidence," said Justin, 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."
Defeat
is one word Justin 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."
A
product of the Australian Cricket Academy (ACA), Justin had his
grounding in the basics along with Shane Warne, Greg Blewett and Damien
Martyn. Justin'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, Justin 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."
Justin,
who has a column called 'Langer's Postcards' on the Baggy Green
website, 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, Justin 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. His second book, The Power of
Passion, has been read and used as a motivational tool for some
cricketers and athletes from other sporting codes.
Justin's
initiation into cricket was through his uncle Robbie Langer, who played
for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and in Kerry Packer's
World Series. Both Robbie and Colin wanted Justin 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."
Justin'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.
Justin 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 Justin. "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. Brothers Adam and Jonathan and
sister Jemma, too, are cricket buffs.
The senior Justin 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.
Justin
is a member of the Australia Day Council and patron of the Childrens’
Leukaemia & Cancer Research in Western Australia.
