"Didn't Know Whether To Cry Or Punch Him": Justin Langer Recalls Steve Waugh Dropping Him From Ashes Test
Published - 27 Jul 2020, 04:20 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:32 AM
Former Australia opener and current head coach Justin Langer saw the legendary Steve Waugh as his hero. After Langer was appointed as the coach of Australia, he brought in Waugh to mentor the side for the Ashes. But despite all the camaraderie over the years their was time when Langer was not happy with decision Waugh made.
But as history says, a captain often has to take difficult decision and that might be one for the greatest Test captains of all-time. Langer recalled the situation and said that Waugh walked into his hotel room and informed him two days ahead of the first Ashes Test in 2001, that he will not be a part of the team.
Langer also said that at that point, he was in two minds — whether to punch out Waugh or cry on his shoulder.
“About two days before the first Test, I had a knock on the door from the legend Steve Waugh, who literally was my hero. [He] knocks on the door of my hotel room… walked into my room and says, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this mate, but you are not playing in the first Test.’ I didn’t know whether to cry on his shoulders or punch him out,” Langer told former Aussie allrounder Shane Watson on Lessons Learnt with the Greats podcast, as quoted by Fox Cricket.
Waugh made his Test debut against India in 1985-86 season but had to wait till the subsequent series against New Zealand to leave his mark on the game. Initially, Steve stood out to be a better player in the ODIs than Tests.
It was Steve, who developed the slog sweep technique during the 1998 Commonwealth Games, against spin bowling. He was a defensive, on the back foot kind of player, who liked to sway away from the bouncers rather challenging it. However, a back injury, kept him away from bowling .
Steve retired with 10927 runs in Test cricket at an average of 51.06. He hit 32 centuries and 52 half-centuries in the format. In the ODIs, he featured in 325 matches for Australia, scoring over 7000 runs. He had a brilliant record as a Test captain with 71.92% of wins.
