Justin Langer, speaking on the Somerset Stories podcast, recalled his memorable debut as a Test opener in 2001, which culminated in a century at The Oval, and a bloody ear from an Andy Caddick bouncer.
Langer, who was slotted primarily at No.3 for the first 39 Tests of his career, got an unlikely promotion to the opener’s slot on the eve of The Oval Test, with the Ashes already in Australia’s kitty.
“Steve Waugh rang me the night before that fifth Test at The Oval in 2001,” Langer recalled, “and he said, ‘We’ve decided you’re gonna open the batting tomorrow. And I said, ‘I haven’t opened the batting in my life and I am batting worse than anyone – I am batting worse than Andy Caddick! It’s impossible for me to open. He said, ‘No, you’ll be a good opener’.
“We went up in the change room,” Langer went on. “We’re up there, I’m lying there, gonna have a brain scan and the team manager rings my mum and dad in Australia, cause they’re watching on telly and panicking.
“My mum goes, ‘Are you alright, darling? I go, ‘Mum, am I alright?’ Got blood pouring out of my ear, I thought I had a broken jaw, had a bleed in my brain, and I’m going, ‘Are you joking, mum? Am I alright? I just got hundred, I’m back! Back mum! Don’t worry about the hit. I’ll be fine. I’ve been hit on the head plenty of times. I said, ‘Don’t worry!’ and my mum was so cool.”
