Before his Test debut, Shaun Tait launched a vicious spell on Justin Langer in fiery net session
The lid has been lifted on a spicy clash which brought an Australian training session to a standstill as tearaway quick Shaun Tait and combative opener Justin Langer went head to head.
Former Australian batsman Brad Hodge has lifted the lid on the time fearsome quick Shaun Tait and combative opener Justin Langer went toe-to-toe in a spiteful net session that nearly ended with the now-Test coach suffering a broken arm.
It was the famous 2005 Ashes series, with Australia fighting to stay in the contest after losing the second Test and escaping with a draw in the third by the skin of their teeth.
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With the series locked at 1-1 heading into the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, coach John Buchanan wanted to reignite the competitive spirit within the team, desperate to keep Australia’s Ashes stranglehold over England alive.
So he ordered a no-holds-barred net session to get the cutthroat juices flowing.
Which was music to the ears of the uncapped Tait — one of the fastest bowlers in history and a man who was keen to impress selectors in a bid to force his way into the Test team for the first time.
But it might as well have been a warning siren for the team’s unsuspecting batsmen.
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One man who was always up for the fight, however, was Langer — the nuggety left-hander who never backed down from a challenge and gladly stepped up to take on The Wild Thing.
“Shaun, to his credit, always pitched the ball up (in the nets, but) John Buchanan and Ricky (Ponting) wanted a competitive net session because they’d been struggling and just wanted a competitive net session,” Hodge told the Bowlology Podcast with Damien Fleming.
“Taity just dropped one a fraction short — and he never bowled short in the nets — but it just lifted off a length and hit Langer under the ribs.
“And Langer didn’t throw the ball back to him. Just hit it into the side of the net.”
This, as former fast-bowling star Fleming points out, is a major no-no.
Etiquette dictates you pick the ball up and throw the ball back to the bowler — anything else is a mark of disrespect and, for a fired-up quick like Tait, is essentially a red rag to a bull.
“Langer was shitty because he got hit,” Hodge explains.
But Tait is not forgiving.
“Mate, it’s not my fault you missed it, the least you can do is pick the ball up and throw it back to me,” he tells Langer.
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It wasn’t the sort of chirp Langer, preparing to play his 92nd Test, was willing to cop on that chin.
Langer’s “eyes were spinning”, Hodge continues, and he barked back at Tait — causing the entire Australian session to shut down momentarily in anticipation of the next ball from the express paceman.
“It was amazing. It was exactly the sort of competitive edge which the team required at the time,” Hodge said.
“The whole net session stopped to watch this next ball.
“And Taity ran in and he bowled this short one and it crunched Justin Langer on the arm guard.
“JL, to his credit, shrugged it off. He wanted to take his gloves off to have a fight with Taity.
“But if it’d had missed his arm guard it would’ve broken his arm. So he has these sore ribs, his arms nearly fallen off and Taity is absolutely steamed in.
“You could just see that this could get out of hand.”
Thankfully, cool heads prevailed and the two worked out their differences — but the message had been heard loud and clear by selectors that Tait was ready for the next step.
He would make his Test debut days later at Trent Bridge, replacing good friend and South Australian teammate Jason Gillespie in a crucial Test Australia would lose by three wickets — with Tait claiming three first-innings scalps.
“The thing with the Wild Thing is when he actually got it completely wrong he’d get angry and aggressive,” Hodge said when asked why Tait was the one bowler he lost sleep over.
“And then it’s a peppering of short balls. And you’re like ‘mate, it’s not my fault!’.
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