Justin Langer : Hello
everyone! As i'm flying back to Australia today I just want to say that it's
been one fo the most memorable six weeks of my life and I look forward to visiting
India again in the future. Thanks for all the support.
santimoy : hello JUSTIN,
whome do u feel as the batting sensation of the test series and why Justin Langer : One of the great things about this series si
that it had everything any cricket lover could possibly ask fot. From the batting
point of view Matthew Hayden has been superb and I don;t think I have ever seen
him hitting the ball so crisply and looking so comfortable at the wicket. And
Steve Waugh was again at his determined best throughout the series. But I will
have to say VVS LAxman played two of the most incredible innings that I have ever
witnessed. He is in rare form and I believe that he has the ability to become
one of INdia's all-time great players. madhusudhan : I think
Steve Waugh spreading the field for Laxman on the 3rd of second test at calcutta
is the turning point of the whole series Justin Langer : The problem was that Laxman was in such incredible
form that it was difficult to plug up his scoring shots. But on reflection I don't
think we could ahve done anything differently. It was such a great test match
and we gave it a hundred percent on the last day, so while we would have liked
to have won we were still proud of our efforts. madhusudhan : Why
do you go after the spin bowling? when fighting out there in the middle is the
need of the hour. Going against spinners in one match is OK, but constantly going
after quality spinners is not a very good sign. Justin Langer : Madhusan, perhaps I should employ you as my batting
coach.The problem we had was that because we are not used to seeing the ball spin
so much we felt nervous about blocking the ball, particularly when there are fieldsmen
all around the bat. But again from watching Sachin and VVS Laxman I would hope
that I am better prepared to play the spinners in the future. Experience is an
invaluable commodity. praveen : what did
you learn from the indian spin bowling? Justin Langer : From a batting perspective, I learned that it
is important to be patient but at the same time be as positive as possible so
as to not let the spinner settle at the crease. I think we saw that over and over
when we watched the Indian batsmen play and the other thing we learned was the
importance of accuracy.Particularly when the ball is spinning. And Harbhajan Singh
had obviously a fantastic series and I'm sure Colin Miller and Shane Warne would
have ben watching him very closely. The most impressive thing about Harbhajan
was his ability to not only spin the ball but also to extract a great deal of
bounce from the pitch. madhusudhan : Warnie
was badly belted by the Indians just because they played all cricketing shots
to him and they never tried to slog him. For eg.., consider how many shots of
VVS, Rahul and Sachin off Warnie were airy shots or went in air Justin Langer : Warnie didn't have his greatest of series which
was a shame for the team and I guess for the Indian supporters who I am sure are
craving to see Shane Warne at his best. I was particularly impressed by the way
the Indian batsmen played him. never giving him a chance to settle onto his preferred
line and length. I certainly learnt a lot from watching the way the Indian batsmen
played the spinners. And hopefully my batting will improve as a result.Warnie
is undoubtebly one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the games. And
this was shown when he was chosen as one of the five great cricketrs of the c
entury. So, while he had a disappointing series here I'm sure he will be able
to work out what eh has to do to remain as one fo the great bowlers of our time ashok : Justin please
ell your comments on TURBANATOR (Harbhajaan) Justin Langer : Harbhajan had a magnificent series in conditions
that suited his style of bowling. He is young, confident and talented and even
cocky and I would predict that he can only go from strength to strength from here. subbul : Whom do U
think currently the best batsmen steve or sachin Justin Langer : If I wanted someone to bat for my life I would
pick Steve Waugh anyday. He is the mentally toughest player I have ever seen.
On the other hand I have never seen any player make batting look so easy as Sachin.
He is simply a superb batsman who also has any extraordinary temperament. If you
are a selector you wouldn't mind having both Sachin and Steve in your batting
line-up. aussie fan : hi justin,
i was shocked to see that the aussie team droped stuart mcgill for the test team.he
was having a great time against westindies. and they placed collin miller in team.
stuart mcgill could have been stopped indian batsman in spin pitches.what are
your views about it Justin Langer : I feel sorry for Stuart MacGill as he is an outstanding
spin bowler who quite possibly spins the ball as much as anyone playing the game
problem he has is that he is competing with Shane Warne who has taken more test
wickets than anyone in the history of Australian cricket. The problem is in any
cricket team we can only pick eleven players so there's always going to be disappointment
amongst certain players. tugga : Hey justin
how does it feel to get hit 12 times on the body by a speeding cricket ball...S
S Das definitely was not as strong as you r...I was there at mumbai test ... how
can u field without shin gaurds...?? Justin Langer : Fielding at short leg is always dangerous but
I must admit I really enjoy being in the action fielding so close to the wicket.
Obviously it hurts when you get hit by the speeding cricket ball but in the emotion
of a test match, witht he adrenalin pumping its not that big a deal, especially
when it results in a freak catch like Sachin's in Mumbai.In terms of the shin
guard question the problem is I can't seem to find any that are comforatble and
give me the freedom to run after the ball when I need to. If you have any contacts
for good shin guards I would be only too happy to wear them during the next test
match. santoshsharma : Hey
justin, which players apart from Laxman and Bhajji(lot has been said about them
already) did u find promising and talented? Justin Langer : We came across some good players during the practice
matches, some of them I would have trouble pronouncing their names but I would
say India looks to have excellent depth and you can be confident in the future
of Indian cricket. dasaxena : aussies
have been known to put prssure on the oposition by using words, this time was
the target, dont u think this is not fair as cricket should be played on the field
and not off the field Justin Langer : I think a lot has been made of this verbal competition.
In the end of the day the game is about bat and ball and generally all questions
are answered on the field. So, I wouldn't be getting too involved or worried about
all this talk that people think we're getting interested in. vijay amritraj : Justin,
there seems to a similarity in batsmen such as you, Rahu Dravid, Jacques Kallis
etc...who ispite of having good technique do not any stage look to dominating
an attack and take the game away from the opposition. what are your views on this? Justin Langer : Every batting order needs both attacking players
and players who the team can build a strong foundation around. Batting at number
three usually you are the sort of player who the team expects the latter from. prakashkatti : hi,Mr.Langer
ur one of the superb fielder at forward shortleg.How u practice? tell me the Secret
sir pls and how many times u wounded. Justin Langer : There is no secret to any success. It just takes
a lot of hard work and determination to be the best we possibly can whether as
a fieldsman, batsman or bowler. It's also important to really enjoy what you are
doing as I do when I am fielding at short leg. rahul78 : Justin,
by your standards you had a very poor series, what do you think were the reasons
for your failures? Justin Langer : I am disappointed not to have scored one or two
test centuries this series. One thing that most disappoints batsmen is not capitalising
on a start. Everytime I batted this tour I got a start but unfortunately didn't
go in with it. Usually my greatest strength is my concentration and this let me
down during this series. I haven't had a break from cricket for 4 years as I have
been playing test cricket and county cricket in England. Now I have a break for
a couple of months and I am sure with recharged batteries there is plenty of big
runs just around the corner. krnatarajan : Hi justinWhat
do you think is the difference between this Indian Team and the team that toured
Australia a year ago? Justin Langer : I think the most obvious difference are the conditions.
Like the Indian batsmen struggled with fast bouncing ball we struggled with the
spinning ball. I'm sure the Indian players learned a lot from their experience
in Australia and as we have learned a great deal here in India. g : Justin...of all
the cities u visited in India ...which one did u like the most and why ???? Justin Langer : I found India a fascinating country everywhere
that I have visited. Probably Mumbai was my favourite city as we were there for
ten days so we ahd a chance to experience many sides of the city and also our
visit to the Taj Mahal was one of the incredible experiences of my life. I love
India and one day I hope to visit for a more extended period and maybe get involved
in some of the charities over here.Particularly the charities involving children. Govardhan : Is there
any lapse on the part of Indian team, when Steve Waugh made his century in Kolkata
with the help of tailenedrs Justin Langer : In this whole test series it was like a roller-coaster
ride. the way the momentum kept changing from one session, even one day, to another.
That particular day the momentum started running in our favour but through the
course of the series both teams took the momentum at one stage or the other. kilaru : so many r
commenting on indian pitches..plz comment on that...? Justin Langer : The three pitches we played on in test cricket
were outstanding test pitches. One thing I couldn't believe was how fast the outfields
were out here.But overall the conditions were great for test cricket. anandj_7@rediffmail.com : how
do you rate waugh's captaincy on the field Justin Langer : I think Steve Waugh is an excellent captain.
Not only tctically on the field but probably, more importantly, the way he manages
his players. He is an inspirational captain and person who has the hundred percent
support from the Australian team. rajinikanth : i would
like u aussies visit regularly to play in india and play a five match test series Justin Langer : One day I think it will be great to play India
in a five test match series the problem is trying to fit more cricket into an
already busy schedule. In the future you never know what might happen though. shantam : What did
you specially like about our country Justin Langer : What I particularly like about this country is
the great love for cricket and the happiness and warmth displayed by your people.
Even those people who seemed to have no material wealth always displayed great
spiritual wealth. janak : justin, R
AUSSES BAD WHEN LOOSES? Justin Langer : No. jagan : Justin How
do u rate Ganguly as a captain? Justin Langer : Sourav is lucky to have had Harbhajan bowling
so well. It is always difficult to captain a side when you're not making runs
yourself but then he seemed to cope with the pressure very well. In the end of
the day India won 2-1, so he must take some of the credit. janak : langer , u
weere out when laxan caught u. why u reacted that u wetre not out? Justin Langer : I can honestly say for the first time in my career
I didn't feel the ball hit my bat in fact becasue the ball was so full I thought
at the very least I had jammed down the ball and because my bat hit the ground
at the same time as the ball passed it was strange to see the replay when I walked
off the ground. There is no malice or bad intention meant by my reaction. cric-mad : hi, justin
, shoot a word about indian girls!!!! Justin Langer : Very pretty but as I am happily married I haven't
been taking too much notice. finew : hellow justin.
hats off to you guys for fighting it till the last ball.does this test series
will have any physchological impact on the forthcoming one day series Justin Langer : I think it's going to be a very tough one-day
series not because of the great difference between the teams. The biggest factor
will be which team handles the pressure of fatigue best. The Aussies are at the
end of a very long campaign and i'm hoping they can find some reserves of energy
to finish this series off strongly. macvins : Justin,
Firstly hope you had a great time in our wonderful country.Why did teh Aussies
look like they were shellshocked in Chennai ? If you are (arguably) the world's
best team then why did Australia loose to just two Indians - Laxman and Harbhajan.The
West Indies came to India and thrashed us in their peak. So, does this eman that
you are not the greatest team ever ? Justin Langer : In the end of the day until two weeks ago we
had won sixteen straight test matches against 5 different nations. It is ahrd
enough to win two or three tests in a row let alone sixteen. So although we were
beaten in the last two thrilling test matches I don't think our record of sixteen
straight will ever be matched.Best team ever?? Whoever can tell. vishnuos : I think
if Kumble is there then australia would be 3-0 what do u think ? Justin Langer : Kumble is obviously a great bowler and to be
honest we would have hoped he was playing this series. That is what test cricket
is all about having all the best players in one game. I think we would have also
liked to have had Bret Lee bowling for us. So I think the score was evened up
with the loss of these two great bowlers. dwijottam_b@rediffmail.com : Congratulations
on being a fantastic team and, you, personally, a wonderful writer. Enjoyed your
columns very much. Tell me, did you change your approach a bit in the Chennai
match where you started playing more aggressively than you usually do? Justin Langer : It's funny that i am perceived as a defensive
type of player as I ahve always been aggessive particualrly against the spinners.
My philosophy on batting is that its about scoring runs and you must back your
instincts and ability at all times to achieve this. rahul_khemka : hi
justin!don't u think that the kangaroos from australia had become over confident
after the first test win. Justin Langer : That is an interesting question. Duringthe West
Indies tour of '99 a similar thing happened. we beat the West Indies easily in
the first test and then lost the next two tests before fighting back in the fourth
test.One thing we have learnt fromt hat experience and from this series si that
you can never take test cricket for granted and maybe we did relax a little after
day two fo the second test.As a consequence we leave these shores having lost
the series we quite possibly should have won when we were in such a position of
strength after making India follow-on in the second test. anandjy : what did
you have for lunch and dinner all these days? Justin Langer : I am starting to acquire a taste for your Indian
food but basically lunch at a test match is served by one fo the best restaurants
in the city so we never walked back onto the field with an empty stomach. In Indian
cuisine is another fond memory i'm taking back with me. ikmar : 16 UNDESERVED
WINS! FOR AN ARROGANT DISRESPECTFUL TEAM.Thats why you will never go into the
history books as one of the greatest. Justin Langer : It seems a shame that you would make such an
ignorant comment. I can categorically say that i play with some fo the best people
you could ever meet and they, as I, find your comments very hurtful. S Arvind : What r
ur plans for the ashes? Justin Langer : The Ashes for us is the ultimate cricket battle
so i'm certain you will see a very determined Australian side in England. After
a well-deserved break and the fresh legs and fresh minds could be an awesome combination. player12 : Do u think
it is a just begining of the downfall of aussies? Justin Langer : Definitely not! We have a lot of great depth
in talent in Australia and I see this recent disappointment as just a small speed
bump for the team. Don't forget it was only eight days of test cricket that we
were looking invincible and even then the third test could have gone either way.
I think we will only get stronger and tougher from this marvellous experience. raklas : Justin, how
motivated is the aussie team for the 1 day series, after playing among the most
incredibly (draining) test series? Justin Langer : This was definitely the toughest test series
i've played in particularly the last two tests. playing in front of such massive
crowds in hot foreign conditions was a great test of mental strength and stamina.
It was very draining and I think it's gonna take a tremendous performance for
the boys to lift themselves during the one-dayers. Justin Langer : Sorry
guys, I would love to answer all your questions but its time for me to get up
into my room and pack my bags for Australia. Thanks for all your fantastic support,
you are a great country and i look forward to staying in touch through rediff.com,
Best wishes.JL
