Langer gets 'buzz' from tight contest

Justin Langer believes the Ashes series has been the best he has played in, but he joined Matthew Hayden in predicting Australia would retain the urn at The Oval. The pair said after the tour match against Essex the pressure was on England and if Australia performed at their best the absorbing contest would be drawn 2-2.

"That's not being arrogant, that's just a fact," Langer told AAP. "With the experience and the statistics we've got in our change room we'll win Test matches."

Hayden, who made 150 before retiring against Essex, said if England pushed for a draw in the fifth Test, which starts on Thursday, they would "play into our hands". "There is no doubt they won't play any differently, but there are a lot of ways we can play differently," he said in The Courier-Mail. "We just have to elevate our mindset and I think we can do it. All the pressure is off us now. We can just play our game. If we play like we can, it will be better than England. No question."

Langer and Hayden were brought together as an opening combination at The Oval four years ago and since then have shared 4718 runs in 51 Tests, and are behind only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who scored 6482 runs together in 89 matches. However, the form of Hayden this series threatens to end the relationship at the same ground, and the Ashes could go with him.

"If we were to lose this series 3-1, worst-case scenario, I would look back on this and say it's the best series I've ever played in," Langer said. "I would play this series again and again over perhaps New Zealand at the end of last summer or some of the other series we've played over the last few years.

"I know some of our guys are enjoying it, and some of them perhaps aren't because the results aren't quite there. We'll be better for it, individually and as a team, there's no doubt about that. To me it's a buzz to be in this situation."