By CricketCountry Staff
Australian batting coach Justin Langer reckons that skipper Michael Clarke is in the prime of his batting life and his 18-month long wait for a Test century will soon end.
Published: Sep 05, 2011, 10:42 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 05, 2011, 10:42 AM (IST)
Michael Clarke has not scored a century in his last 21 Test innings © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Galle: Sep 5, 2011
Australian batting coach Justin Langer reckons that skipper Michael Clarke is in the prime of his batting life and his 18-month long wait for a Test century will soon end.
Clarke, who scored career-best 168 against New Zealand in Wellington in March 2010, has not reached three figure-mark in last 21 innings.
”It’s as good as I’ve seen him bat at the moment,” Langer said. ”He’s done some hard work in the off-season, and these conditions are brilliant for him. He, along with Brian Lara and Darren Lehmann, are the best players of spin I’ve ever seen. I think it’s just a matter of time before he really cashes in.,” langer was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald as saying.
The Australian skipper hit a gritty half-century in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle to help his team set a 379-run target. Australia won that match by 125 runs.
”It’s one thing to talk about being positive in these conditions but he actually went out and led by example, and it’s a really important sign of great leadership,” Langer said, asserting that Clarke has passed the first captainship Test with flying colours.
”If you look back on all the captains that we’ve had, one of the greatest traits is that they lead by example, and he certainly showed that on the field in that second innings. This was an extreme wicket. On extreme wickets sometimes you have to have the courage to have a different game plan … he showed the way basically and that gave the other guys confidence to have that same positive intent.”
The former Australian opener said Clarke is determined to get a ton. ”He is extremely determined … He’s taking on this captaincy with huge commitment and focus, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s making some big runs, big hundreds soon,” Langer said.
”Senior players like him, you give them their space … They’ll work it out. That’s what they do. He didn’t have a great Ashes – he’ll be the first to put his hand up for that, but the environment has changed a bit since then.”
