Adelaide Test, Day 1, Tea
Friday, December 14, 2001

The story of that session, and just about the summer so far, has got to be Justin Langer's form. He has cut here as well as I have ever seen him cut. He's just worked the ball through slip and gully with ease, it's been a very convincing innings.

Quite often when you get that last chance in Test cricket you have got a very clear head and make a bucketload of runs. This was absolutely Justin's last chance after struggling in India and early on in England, and hasn't he made the most of it. It's a great example of never knowing what's around the corner.

He'll be a little bit disappointed with running Ricky Ponting out, because Punter was just getting going after struggling with back problems through the early part of his innings, but this has been one of Langer's most convincing innings in Test cricket. He's answered every question South Africa's bowlers have asked of him.

But the South Africans can still take a fair bit away from that session. Australia really had them - their body language was bad, they didn't look too keen, but that run-out and picking up Mark Waugh has got them back into it.

It's been Henderson and Kallis who have kept things quiet. Henderson has brought the batsmen out of their crease and made both Langer and Ponting think about it a fair bit, and if he can be tight at one end then Pollock can rotate the quicks from the other and really attack.

There's a fair bit of pressure on the Australian middle order too. They weren't terrific in that rain-affected series against New Zealand, and they can't keep relying on Lee and Warne to make runs.

I think the pitch is at its peak right now. It's not going to get any easier to bat on - we're already seeing a bit of up-and-down stuff, so it's a good chance for Australia to get some runs on the board.

Ian Healy made a record 395 dismissals in 119 Tests for Australia. His comments will be appearing on Wisden.com at the end of every session in the series. He was talking to Tim Stoney.

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