Discipline leads to success

Punishing the Poms: Langer hits out at Adelaide

In part two of his chat with News Online's Thrasy Petropoulos, Middlesex captain Justin Langer reveals the secret of good batting and his interest in the internet.

Q:It took you more than five years to establish yourself in the Australian side. But you have since made the No. 3 position your own, you were described by Steve Waugh as the best batsman in the world, and you are captain of Middlesex. Can you believe the success you have had?

A: I'm still pinching myself, particularly at what's happened during the last 12 months since I've been back in the side under Steve Waugh.

He's given me great confidence and great support and as a result I've felt more confident of my place within the team and therefore I've had some success.

I guess that at the end of the day all the tours, all the lead up, all the time spent in Shield cricket, there are some disappointments along the way, but they were very important in terms of the foundation that I had in my career.

So while I'm still pinching myself it doesn't surprise me that I am where I am now.

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Q: What exactly is that foundation?

A:

Being on the fringe of the Australian cricket team meant that I had to work extremely hard, probably harder than a lot of people, to get the opportunity to be in the side.

Getting into those disciplines, that laid a strong foundation to my technique. I felt I had to keep working with my technique - I still believe that everybody has to work at their technique.

I always felt that I had to look for every avenue possible to become a better player, so I improved my fitness which has always been an important part of the game. And mentally: one, playing Shield cricket, two striving to become a part of the Australian team.

I knew that every single time that I played was important.

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Q: It sounds like success didn't come as easy as people might think?

A:You can't buy experience on a shelf. With experience you learn a lot about the game. I now know my game inside out. I think that's been the biggest reason I've had success in the past 12 months; I know my game so well and I trust it.

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Q: So what's the secret?

A:

Allan Border once told me the reason he made so many runs was because every ball, just as the bowler was about to let go, he said to himself "Where's the ball?". Every ball! It doesn't matter whether he was playing a charity game or a Test match. It's the essence of concentration.

Greg Chappell also told me when I was younger. "All I ever used to do, because I knew I had a good technique, was just as the bowler was about to let go of the ball, I'd say to myself: "Watch the ball; watch the ball".

Steve Waugh, the master of concentration, has told me the same.

So now when I'm out in the middle, that's my game. I know that if I see the ball out of the bowler's hand I'm going to make a lot of runs.

There's no doubt it's a learned skill. No one is born with it and it's something that I've worked so hard on over the last few years.

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Q: You're not just a prolific run-scorer; you can be found everywhere on the Internet writing columns and postcards from exotic places. Are you one of these guys who is always on the Internet?

A: It's simply a medium to allow me to write. I'm not a computer boffin. I'm getting better at it. It fascinates me but, to be honest with you, I know what I have to do to get my articles in and how to send my photographs and videos and that's about it.

When I'm involved with the Australian team I write everyday which is good fun.

I'm in the process of writing a book about 'The Dominators', the last ten Test victories by Australia. So I'm writing 25,000 words for that, the skeleton of which came from the work I had done on the Internet over the past ten Tests.

It's good fun. It keeps my mind off the game. I used to think too much about cricket. I used to get so wound up about it. It gives me another interest.

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Q: Your wife and two young children live in England. Do you feel as if you have a balanced family life?

A:

Of course. My two kids mean the world to me which is really what it's all about. I love my two kids, three and 18 months. And my wife, the respect for my wife since she became a mother has just gone through the roof which means that we're now a lot closer.

Respect is important in all things, whether it be business or sport, and seeing how hard it is to be a mum, my respect for her is enormous.

I would say that writing is another interest, cricket is a profession and my family is my life.

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Q:Thanks very much for your time...

A:Oh I've got to tell you one more story before we end. We were playing Northampton at Wantage Road and Angus Fraser was just starting his run-up to bowl. All of a sudden this little girl's voice comes booming over the public address speaker. "Daddy! Hello, Daddy. It's me." They had turned the old scorer's box into a creche and my daughter, Jesse, was in there. She had found the old microphone, pressed the button and was waving to me. Then we heart a smack and tears. It took us all about three minutes to stop laughing. That's what it's all about.