Justin Langer column

After the build-up to the Ashes, it is hard to describe the satisfaction of winning the last four Test matches.

Like playing in the same team as Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, this series has been without doubt one of the great highlights of my career.

Since retrieving the Ashes by winning at the Waca, there have been plenty of off-field dramas marking the end of two of the most decorated careers in Australian sporting history.
First it was the man who single-handedly changed the face of cricket internationally.

With his blonde hair and glittering earrings, the man voted by Wisden as one of the five most influential players in the history of the game decided it was time to bow out.

Having taken over 700 Test wickets, the brilliant Shane Warne is leaving the game on his terms and at a point when he is still the best bowler in the world.

He put in another superb man-of-the-match performance in our latest victory in Melbourne and has been the X-factor in the series.

As Andrew Flintoff was the difference last time we met, Shane has been the key this summer.

Playing with him and watching the poetry of his bowling has been without doubt one of the privileges of my career.

I have no doubt that as the years go by, people will be most interested in what it was like to play with Shane, just as Sir Donald Bradman's peers are so often asked what it was like to be in the same XI as the world's greatest ever batsman.

A few days after Shane called it quits, his partner in crime, and statistically the best fast bowler Australia has ever produced, also decided it was time to go out on his terms.

It seems inconceivable the Sydney Test in a few days' time will be the last time Glenn bowls in tandem with Shane.

The sad thing about the departure of these two friends is that while we will miss their wickets, experience and aura, we will also miss them.

They are two fantastic blokes who have been a part of some of the best memories of my life.

When Flintoff won the toss at the MCG and batted first it would be fair to say we were more than a little surprised.
While we are not allowed to bet on the game of cricket I would have staked my last dollar that England would bowl first if they won the toss on a moist surface.

From the first over of the Test match we felt on top and apart from the early loss of wickets when we batted, the flow of the game stayed with us throughout.

When Andrew Symonds walked out to the middle, I can't remember willing anyone more to score some runs.

Not only were we under pressure but I believe Andrew is one of those players who also possess that X-factor which makes him an invaluable member of this cricket team.

Unfortunately in the world we live in, statistics - runs and wickets - are the only currency of value.

Yet numbers alone rarely tell the whole tale of the value of certain players.

I have no doubt "Symo" is one of those players and now that he is adding those numbers to his awesome natural ability, we can all breathe a little easier at his prospects of playing more Test cricket.

The beauty and brilliance of Andy as a team-mate is that he can bat with the brutal authority that he displayed here in Melbourne.

He bowls medium-pace and off-spin, and is also the world's best fieldsman.

Importantly, he also adds character and humour to the changing room and his passion for the Baggy Green cap and his mates is infectious.

His reaction when he reached his maiden Test century was priceless and, considering he was batting with one of his best mates in Matty Hayden, it was hard to hold back the tears when the ball sailed twenty rows back into the grandstand.

No one has encouraged and supported Symo like "Haydos" has, so it was one of those magical moments when the two of them were able to celebrate such a milestone in front of 75,000 people at the MCG.

My opening partner was once again brilliant in this Test; fighting hard for a couple of hours before playing at his belligerent best.

His timely century and partnership with his fishing partner was the cornerstone for our fourth victory of the summer and eleventh consecutive Test triumph.

From Melbourne,
JL

By Justin Langer,BBC sports

2006 in statistics

Australia dominated the year as the best team in Test cricket but Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf and Sri Lankan spinner Muttian Muralitharan finished as the sport's leading batsman and bowler.

Read on for the best statistics of 2006 in seven categories.
TEAM RECORDS
Australia won all 10 Tests they played in the year, including the first four matches against England to retain the Ashes.
Bangladesh and the West Indies were the only countries not to win a single Test in 2006.

Australia P 10 W 10 L 0 D 0
Sri Lanka P 11 W 6 L 3 D 2
Pakistan P 12 W 4 L 3 D 5
New Zealand P 8 W 3 L 3 D 2
India P 12 W 3 L 3 D 6
England P 14 W 5 L 6 D 3
South Africa P 11 W 3 L 7 D 1
Bangladesh P 4 W 0 L 4 D 0
West Indies P 10 W 0 L 5 D 5




MOST TEST RUNS

Mohammad Yousuf broke Viv Richards' 30-year-old world record for the most runs in a year when he scored 1,788, including nine centuries, at an average of 99.33.

M Yousuf (Pak) M 11 Runs 1,788 HS 202 Ave 99.33
Kevin Pietersen (Eng) 14 1,343 158 53.72
Ricky Ponting (Aus) 10 1,333 196 88.86
Kumar Sangakkara (SL) 11 1,242 287 69.00
Younis Khan (Pak) 11 1,179 199 65.50

MOST WICKETS

Muralitharan fell just short of Shane Warne's world record of 96 Test wickets in a year, set in 2005, when he finished with 90 at 16.90.

Warne was fifth with 49 to take his career tally to a record 706 heading into his last match before retirement.

M Muralitharan (SL) M 11 Runs 1,521 W 90 Ave 16.90 Best 8-70
Makhaya Ntini (SA) 10 1,253 58 21.60 6-100
Anil Kumble (Ind) 12 1,910 57 33.50 6-78
Matthew Hoggard (Eng) 14 1,560 51 30.58 7-109
Shane Warne (Aus) 10 1,480 49 30.20 6-86

HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGES
Discarded Australian paceman Jason Gillespie topped the batting averages at 231 after making an unbeaten double-hundred in his last Test appearance against Bangladesh, with four out of the top five coming from Australia.

Jason Gillespie (Aus) M 2 Runs 231 HS 201* Ave 231.00
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) 11 1,788 202 99.33
Ricky Ponting (Aus) 10 1,333 196 88.86
Mike Hussey (Aus) 10 965 182 80.41
Michael Clarke (Aust) 6 429 135* 71.50

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORES

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene's 374 against South Africa in Colombo was the highest score of the year, while Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 287 during a world record partnership of 624 with his skipper, had the second best.

374 - Mahela Jayawardene (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
287 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
262 - Stephen Fleming (NZ) v South Africa, Cape Town
254 - Virender Sehwag (Ind) v Pakistan, Lahore
216 - Brian Lara (WI) v Pakistan, Multan

BEST BOWLING AVERAGES
Gillespie also finished second in the bowling averages behind South African part-time bowler Ashwell Prince, whose lone victim came at an average cost of just nine.

Ashwell Prince (SA) M 11 Runs 9 W 1 Ave 9.00 Best 1-2
Jason Gillespie (Aus) 2 90 8 11.25 3-11
Shaun Udal (Eng) 1 67 5 13.40 4-14
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 11 1,521 90 16.90 8-70
Stuart Clark (Aus) 8 746 42 17.76 5-55

BEST FIGURES IN AN INNINGS
Muralitharan's 8-70 against England at Trent Bridge were the best figures by a bowler in 2006.

8/70 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) v England, Nottingham
8/108 - Stuart MacGill (Aus) v Bangladesh, Fatullah
7/97 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) v South Africa, Colombo
7/109 - Matthew Hoggard (Eng) v Australia, Adelaide
7/130 - Daniel Vettori (NZ) v Sri Lanka, Wellington

BBC sports



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