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Langer drops retirement hint

Justin Langer has dropped a clear hint that he is considering retiring from international cricket after the Ashes

Cricinfo staff
08-May-2006


'I know that now isn't the right time' © Getty Images
Justin Langer has dropped a clear hint that he is considering retiring from international cricket after the Ashes. Langer, 35, has thought long and hard about his future after returning home early from South Africa following a blow on the head from Makhaya Ntini in his 100th Test.
"I have always said that the day you decide to retire, do it," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Don't announce it ahead of time, because it will just lead to huge distractions. I can't say what the future holds beyond the Ashes. I would hate to say something now and it become a big distraction through something that is as big a deal as the Ashes. The last Ashes series really hurt. I would love to leave the game knowing that we had regained the Ashes, and the next Ashes team would have it in their possession."
He said several people close to him had recommended he quit immediately after the Ntini incident, but he had decided to carry on. "I promised that I would go away for three weeks and make a decision," he said. "When I first came back home I thought that possibly it was the time to go. But I know that now isn't the right time.
"I don't know if that means I've got one series to go or whatever, but I know that I really want to play in the Ashes. It would definitely be nice to leave the game with the Ashes in our possession."


Langer slumps to the ground after being hit by Makhaya Ntini © Getty Images
Langer's departure, if he does go, could signal the breaking up of the current highly successful side, with several other players coming to the end of their careers. Although Andrew Hilditch, Australia's new chairman of selectors, was keen to point out that improved diet and training meant players could go on for longer, Langer explained that the time spent away from home was a big factor.
"We are compensated well and looked after well, but to be frank, the hardest thing for me now is the time away from home, and it has become excruciatingly hard," he told the paper. "I am feeling it even more at the moment because I have just had three weeks of spending every day with my kids. It is the hardest thing ever to keep leaving them for long stints."