Joe Burns praises Australian coach Justin Langer for keeping faith in him

As the pressure was mounting on Joe Burns, coach Justin Langer was behind the scenes helping the struggling opener out of his form slump.

Joe Burns on his way to a career-saving half century against India in Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

Joe Burns has hailed the empathy of coach Justin Langer as the catalyst behind his gutsy Rocky-esque rise off the canvas in Adelaide.

The Queenslander was once dropped from Test cricket after making 180 in his previous Test, but last week Burns survived one of the worst preparations for a series in recent history, largely thanks to the undying backing of his coach.

Adam Gilchrist said before the Test that perhaps Langer’s greatest strength as a mentor is that he knows exactly what his players are feeling at any given moment … because he’s been there himself.

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Like Mickey Goldmill, Rocky Balboa’s fictional trainer, Langer rode every moment of the drama and pressure with Burns last week – right down to jumping into the nets with him 48 hours out from the Test to counsel him through every shot.

Langer was in Burns’ corner right from the moment the squad was selected, even when all the rage was around Will Pucovski getting a debut.

It was fitting that the pair shared a meaningful embrace moments after Burns’ brought up an unbeaten half century – and the winning runs in the first Test – with a six.

The bond between Burns and Langer is best summed up by the batsman describing his fighting 51 not out as “our innings.”

“It’s just satisfying. Obviously JL has been right in my corner the last few weeks,” said Burns.

“I’d been working closely with him in the days leading up to the Test match. That’s exactly how we wanted to approach the game.

“The message from JL was about finding rhythm. He wanted me to really play my shots at training and just be strong-minded in our approach. That shone through in our innings.

“By the end of the innings it felt amazing. It’s always a special feeling when you’re not making runs and you’ve got someone in your corner.”

Joe Burns is embraced by Justin Langer after guiding the Aussies to victory against India in the first Test. Picture: Getty Images

A half century chasing a target of 90 doesn’t necessarily cement Burns’ long-term future, but it does confirm to Langer that he is invested all his time and energy into a very tough, and largely, underestimated, character.

‘Average Joe’ has proven he’s made of the type of stuff that Langer wants to see in his players.

You can almost imagine Langer uttering one of Mickey Goldmill’s famous lines from Rocky, “Get up you son of a b---h, ‘cause Mickey loves ya.”

Or maybe, “You’re gonna eat lightnin’ and you’re gonna crap thunder!”

“Our conversations were based around the job at hand against India and how we wanted to play, what we needed to do, how we needed to combat what they were going to throw at us,” said Burns.

“And that’s where my mind was at. There’s always noise at this game.”

Proteas positives leave Aussie tour nerves jangled

– Robert Craddock

Pace spearhead Pat Cummins has urged South Africa to match the biosecurity standards of England as anxiety levels rise for Australia’s February tour.

Two unnamed South African players have tested positive to COVID-19 and been withdrawn from the squad to play Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, not the news Australia was wanting after England recently abandoned their tour.

Australia is set to head to South Africa for a three-Test tour in February-March which the South African government is desperate to go ahead amid fears that its cancellation could impact the nation’s tourism.

Australia are set to play a three-Test series in South Africa in February.

But Australia is nervous and the tour rests on a knife’s edge.

South Africa has recorded the highest number of COVID infections in Africa – almost at the 900,000 mark – with 20,000 deaths and the government tightened restrictions this week.

“All I can say is when we went to England earlier this year it was absolutely incredible lengths the ECB went to ensure our safety, so hopefully South Africa can provide a similar level of service,’’ Cummins said.

“It’s a place we love touring and playing cricket. I know Cricket Australia’s medical staff will be starting their planning right now for that South African tour. It is obviously not an ideal situation, especially with (what happened to) that English team who went over.’’

England withdrew from their South African tour because of their concerns over the biosecurity protocols, and an alarming quote from England’s director of cricket Ashley Giles was noted by Australia’s hierarchy.

“The thing that really raised the levels of anxiety and nervousness were that we were coming into a biosecure environment and from very early on it appeared it wasn’t biosecure,” Giles said.

Originally published as Joe Burns praises Australian coach Justin Langer for keeping faith in him