No ordinary Joe: How Justin Langer revived opener Burns

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

Justin Langer congratulates Joe Burns after his gutsy half century in Adelaide

Joe Burns has hailed the empathy of coach Justin Langer as the catalyst behind his 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.

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’s corner from the moment the squad was selected, even when all the rage was around Will Pucovski getting a debut. It was fitting 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.

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“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.”

A half-century chasing a target of 90 doesn’t necessarily cement Burns’s long-term future, but it does confirm to Langer that he has 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 bitch, ’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.

“JL said there’s always theatre around the team. He’s been through it all before.

“He knows what it’s like to open the batting for his country and he is very relatable.”

Langer’s main message was “find some rhythm and stick it to them when you get out there”.