Getting back in the ring

Justin Langer: a hunger for runs © Martin Williamson

A blow to the head can work wonders for a man. In seven Tests since last summer's Ashes, Justin Langer had mustered 392 runs at 32.66, with just a solitary score in excess of 50. At the age of 35, and with Australia entering a period of transition, his progress - or lack of - was being monitored more closely than ever.

Never more so than in his most recent Test innings, against South Africa at Johannesburg in April. It was Langer's 100th match, but it lasted all of one delivery. A vicious bouncer from Makhaya Ntini was onto Langer before he knew it, and cracked him a sickening blow on the back of the head. He retired hurt, and was in such a groggy state that he even had to miss the subsequent two-Test series in Bangladesh - Australia's last international assignment for five months.

So what did Langer do? He went on a busman's holiday. Having worked his way back into a groove in the nets at Perth, he signed up for a five-week stint with Somerset, during which time he has blazed a trail that was scarcely imagined of such a dour and nuggetty player.

First stop was the Twenty20 tournament. Langer, much to his chagrin, has played just eight one-day internationals in his 15-year career - a victim of perception as much as anything. Now, in the space of a fortnight, he played exactly that many 20-over matches, and slotted the phenomenal tally of 464 runs, at a strike rate in excess of 160 runs per 100 balls.

One thing he missed out on was a maiden century for Somerset - his best effort was 97 from 78 balls against Northamptonshire. So, he returned to his more regular form of the game and made amends in no uncertain terms. Against Surrey at Guildford, in temperatures that would have made lesser men melt, he plundered a career-best 342 from 416 balls, including 43 fours and two sixes.

By the time he had been dismissed, Langer was in possession of the 10th-highest first-class score recorded in England, and had surpassed Viv Richards' epic 322, the highest score in Somerset's history. Among Australians only Charlie Macartney, who made 345 for the 1921 tourists against Nottinghamshire, has gone bigger. One thing's for sure. Langer will be ready and waiting for England's arrival in Brisbane on November 23.

What he says
"My greatest challenge is mastering concentration. It is a matter of focusing and paying attention to the next ball. That way you take pressure off yourself, because you're only having to concentrate for very short periods." Langer explains how he kept his cool for 10 hours and 18 minutes at Guildford, despite batting throughout the hottest day of the English summer.

What they say
"His was a relentless, remorseless innings, one paced only in the sense that his runs were scored with rapidity throughout. All his characteristic shots were to the fore: drives through cover, pulls and that shot he squeezes past the fielder who never seems to be sufficiently backward of point." The Times correspondent, Ivo Tennant, watches admiringly from the press tent at Guildford.

What you may not know
Langer is a massive boxing fan - which no doubt helps him deal with all the blows to the head he has taken in his career. His all-time sporting hero is Muhammad Ali, and his preparation for last summer's first Ashes Test at Lord's included a full 12 rounds with his fitness trainer, Steve Smith, a former member of the SAS.

What the future holds
A shot at redemption in the Ashes in November is the first and only goal that matters for the moment, although a return to Somerset next summer is very much on the cards after the success of his five-week stint. After that, it all depends how his mind and body shape up, but having just recorded the highest score of his career, it's a safe bet that Langer feels good for another few seasons yet.