5 batsmen whose careers changed after a change in batting position
The game of cricket is by no means a simple one. Even the minutest of changes, such as giving a bowler an additional over in a spell, or experimenting with the batting order, can have a sizeable impact, not just on the game at hand, but also possibly on the future of the players involved in the change.Throughout its history, cricket has witnessed the reinvention of several batsmen, after their position in the batting lineup was altered. Here’s a look at 5 batsmen whose careers changed after a change in batting position.
#1 Justin Langer
Arguably one of Australia’s best Test openers, few would believe that Justin Langer’s career started off as an eternal struggle to hold down a spot in the team. Langer, at one point in his career, was perpetually just one failure away from being dropped.
He initially walked in to bat at No.3, right from his Test debut against the West Indies at the Adelaide Oval, in 1993. Until 2001, Langer remained at the No.3 spot, until his big break, which came in the final game of the 2001 Ashes series. He replaced Michael Slater as an opening batsman at The Oval and scored a century right away.
The masterstroke shift paid off, and he was never dropped again. He averaged 52.38 and scored 14 centuries in 44 matches as an opener; previously he scored 7 centuries in 41 matches at an average of 39.04.
Langer and Hayden racked up a total of 5,655 runs over a period of 113 innings in their opening stands together, second only to the West Indians Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.Langer announced his retirement from Test cricket On 1 January 2007, after the fifth Ashes Test against England.