Justin Langer: "Steve Smith doesn't think about batting like he does, he just does it"

SIMON HUGHES speaks to Justin Langer on his Analyst Inside Cricket podcast about Australia's ascent to No.1 in the world, his initial impressions of Steve Smith and the development of his coaching philosophy

“Be careful what you wish for” is one of Justin Langer’s fundamental learnings from his two years in charge of Australia.

It is a mindset that has been completely vindicated as his team are today elevated to No.1 in the world in Test and T20I rankings. In a candid and revealing interview with the Analyst Inside Cricket podcast, in which he also admits he thought Steve Smith “couldn’t bat” when he first worked with him, Langer concedes that Australia were “the most hated team in the world” when he took over, so this achievement represents a redemption.

India have been dethroned to third in the Test rankings behind Australia and New Zealand, and Pakistan have lost their top spot in the T20I format.

Langer has embraced the global lockdown enthusiastically, grabbing the opportunity to read widely and assess the coaching art in more depth, including sharing ideas and philosophies with England rugby coach (and fellow Australian) Eddie Jones, a well-known cricket-lover. Having been the central figure in the eight part Netflix series The Test, following the national side as they rebuilt the team and restored public faith on the back of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, Langer was intrigued to watch The Edge, the film about England’s ascent to No.1 in 2011.

“It was fascinating watching that,” he said. “There was so much emphasis [in that England team] on being No.1, being No.1, being No.1. It was astonishing the toll that that took on people. It was a bit like the Australian team before sandpaper-gate – that was the last straw – we were the most hated team in the world.

“It was a very proud moment yesterday [being told that Australia had reached the top of the rankings] but we haven’t talked about it once throughout this period. We’ve just focused on our processes, and our values, Of course I was pleasantly surprised at the news yesterday but we haven’t concentrated on getting to No.1 at all.”

^{Australia are now the top-ranked Test and T20I side}

Langer’s own evolution as a coach was laid bare during The Test, which utilised unprecedented access to an international team’s dressing room. When he began his stint as head coach, he was prescriptive and at times could be intimidating to some of the younger players and success was not forthcoming.

They lost a home Test series to India for the first time in their history, and were whitewashed by England in a one-day series in 2018, though at that point they were denied the services of Steve Smith and David Warner because of their yearlong suspensions.

Over time he has learned to relax more on the back of his long career as a player, with plenty of downs as well as ups. Utilising the experience of being a parent of four daughters has also helped.

India deposed as no1 Test team. Australia to be crowned new top team today https://t.co/Ag6yUtxNez #India

— simon hughes (@theanalyst) May 1, 2020

“Because of my own playing career nothing much surprises me – I’ve seen and experienced most things. But I think you’ve got to be strategic when you start and set the standards. If that means being grumpy sometimes, that’s okay. If you start off really tough and then you form relationships and get to know people and zen out a bit and it runs like clockwork. It’s like parenting.

“You start strict so they know the ground rules, then develop flexibility, let them go, let them make their own mistakes – you have to do that to help them grow. It’s often the strictest parents whose kids are the naughtiest. I’ve got four daughters and they all came from the same place of course but they’re all totally different. Eventually you have to let people be themselves.”

He has gradually applied this rationale to batting coaching too, having evolved his method from his early days as a coach. “I think we over-coach kids. We don’t let them be as natural as possible.

^{Steve Smith has become a consistent run-machine... even if Langer wasn't immediately impressed}

“In 1995 Don Bradman wrote me a letter, perfectly typed out two days after I’d written to him, and the last line was ‘never become a slave to coaching, always trust your instinct.’ The mistake I made when I first became a coach was that I tried to teach everyone to bat like I did. The day I retired from Somerset in 2009 Ricky Ponting asked me to help out with the Australian team. I was in Wellington, New Zealand and Steve Smith asked me to feed him some balls from the bowling machine.

“He was batting No.8 and playing as a leg spinner. And I walked back from the nets and I said to Ricky: ‘This kid can’t play, he can’t bat. I put the balls there for him to play a cover drive and he’s smacking them through mid-wicket. When he plays the pull shot he swivels like a ballerina… I’m telling you he can’t bat.’

“I said that because he didn’t bat like I batted. What a mug am I? Steve Smith doesn’t think about batting like he does, he just does it. He watches the ball incredibly closely, he’s got fast feet, his hands go in that beautiful circular motion like Bradman had, his work ethic is incredible. As long as they hit the ball and make runs, that’s all that matters. You’ve got to treat everybody differently.”

Langer, a man with infectious energy and what he calls a “curious mind” could become the first superlative player to become an even better coach.

Well, after today’s announcement he’s more than halfway there.

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