Former opener Justin Langer remembers how a call from then Australia captain Steve Waugh changed his life, just as he was thinking of calling it quits in the middle of the 2001 Ashes in UK.
Langer had been woefully out of touch since the turn of the century, a rut where he hit the rock bottom during the all-important tour of England.
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"Literally, the week before I opened for the first time with Haydos (Matthew Hayden), I told all my family I’m getting on a plane and leaving, I’m going home," Langer told ABC.
"I couldn’t make a run, I thought I’d failed, I’d never play for Australia again. I’d been dropped at the start of the series when I thought I was going to play. My wife had flown over because I was going to retire the week before," he added.
"I was so down in the dumps ... and out of nowhere, Steve Waugh rings me and says; ‘you’re going to open the batting tomorrow’."
Deeply disturbed because of his performances at the time, Langer even exploded in anger at teammate Adam Gilchrist. "I hit rock-bottom when I was out for two against Sussex at Hove," he wrote in 2006 book 'The Ashes Match of My Life'.
"I walked off the ground and shouted at our stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist, ‘Look what you guys have done to me!’. I really spat the dummy. I was sick of being the easy guy to drop."
"That night I sat in the bar of the Grand Hotel on the Brighton seafront with Gilly and our coach John Buchanan. I don’t normally drink much, but for four hours I knocked back the Budweisers as I spewed out all the emotions that had been simmering away since I was dropped. I told them exactly how I felt. Anger had been stopping me make runs, so I had to change."
Waugh's call led to an inspirational turnaround in Langer's career. He scored a terrific hundred in the final Test of that tour at the Oval to help Australia win the game by an innings and the series 4-1, which remains Aussies' last Test series win in UK till date.
Langer, whose opening duo with Matthew Hayden was key to Australia's global dominance, retired in 2007 with 7,696 runs at an average of 44.74, including 23 hundreds.
The 49-year-old is currently serving as head coach of the national side.
(Inputs from India Today)
