Langer recalls his finest Test moment

Former Test batsman Justin Langer has rated a monumental Test run chase with Adam Gilchrist by his side as his finest hour in Baggy Green.

Langer, now firmly entrenched as Western Australia and Perth Scorchers coach having also stood in as national coach in limited-overs cricket twice over the past 12 months, recalled an against-the-odds performance against Pakistan in November 1999 as a standout in his glittering 105-Test career.

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The innings came in the middle phase of Langer's time in the Test side; after he played eight Tests in the four years from his debut and before he linked up with Matthew Hayden in the final Test of the 2001 Ashes to form Australia's most prolific opening combination. 

At the time, Langer was batting at No.3 but with Ricky Ponting at six and the likes of Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann among a high-class list of first-class batsmen looking to force their way into the side, a run of five Tests without a half-century meant the Western Australian was under pressure to retain his place. 

Australia had won the first Test of the series convincingly in Brisbane, but an all-star Pakistan attack featuring Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq came back hard in Hobart. 

After making 222 in the first innings, Pakistan kept Australia to 246 and responded with 392 in their second innings to set the hosts an improbable 369 to win. 

At the time, no side had ever chased more than 332 to win a Test match in Australia, and when Steve Waugh's side slipped to 5-126 on the fourth afternoon, that 71-year record looked like staying intact.

"I'd say it's my best performance, certainly in Test cricket, for so many reasons," Langer told TABradio this week. 

"Like I seemed to be most of my career, I was under the gun from the selectors. 

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"I got out for 50 in the first innings and it was a pretty rough decision by (Peter) 'Porky' Parker to be honest. 

"But the second innings we were chasing 360 and we were 5-100 at drinks late on day four. 

"Then this bloke, Adam Gilchrist, walks out in his second Test. 

"I'd been batting for a couple of hours and was 40 or so. 

"'Gilly' walks out, and I'm being positive, saying, 'If you just hang in there, you never know what could happen. Let's see if we can stick it out til stumps, it might rain tomorrow'. 

"He goes, 'Yeah, yeah, no worries'. 

"I was just trying to say the right things but thinking to myself, we're going to lose this Test but if I get 50 not out I might get another Test match. 

"But by the time we walked off at stumps on day four, Gilly was about 54 and I was still about 44.

"And therein lies the genius of Adam Gilchrist. 

"The next day we came back and we polished off the runs."

Langer's recall of the feat makes it seem almost routine though history shows it was far from that. 

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Facing one of Pakistan's greatest-ever attacks and with 181 still needed with just five wickets in hand on a wearing fifth-day pitch, Langer and Gilchrist teamed up for a 238-run stand that won their side the match and went down in history as one of the greatest ever by a pair in Baggy Green. 

The late Richie Benaud described it as "one of the finest victories I've ever seen in Test cricket", and for Australia, it proved the most challenging hurdle on their road to a world record streak of Test victories between 1999 and 2001. 

"It was significant personally, but for the Australian cricket team, it was actually the (third) of our 16-match winning streak," Langer added. 

"I think we thought if we could win from there, we could win from anywhere."