JUSTIN LANGER: How Australia’s Ashes success provides so many lessons for everyday life

These days I spend a lot of my time writing and talking about lessons learned through cricket and business.

Over the last six weeks I have watched another Ashes series through the close lens of the Channel 7 commentary box.

Test cricket is unlike any other sport. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Five days, ninety overs a day. Hours in the field, hours at the crease, each moment testing patience, character and resilience.

Test matches are not unlike many businesses. Long hours, long weeks, tough decisions, each testing us in so many ways.

We can all joke that this recent Ashes series was at times more of a sprint than a marathon and point towards the disastrous two-day Tests in Perth and Melbourne as proof.

Some will bemoan the change in tempo from a five-day grind to a hybrid model of T20 slogging in white clothes and a red ball.

Others love the entertainment of wickets tumbling and run-rates soaring.

During one stint in the commentary box one of Ricky Ponting’s mates texted him and said: “Tell Langer to get with the times, this is the new age of cricket.”

Who’s wrong, who’s right? Who knows?

What I do know is that through the triumphs, and at times humbling nature of sport, lessons can be revealed.

In a series where Australia came up trumps, winning 4-1, these are some of the lessons I took from this great game called Test cricket.

Lesson one: Plan, prepare, perform

In the first Test match of the series, England arrived in Perth full of hope, optimism and energy. They were talking a good game. There was genuine confidence that their fast bowlers would shake-up the Australian batsmen, and that their ultra-positive batting approach would make Australia’s bowlers fold.

Two days later this all changed, as Australia went one-nil up.

Anyone who knows anything about playing in Perth would tell you it is the fastest, bounciest cricket pitch in the world. Hit the right length with the ball and be watchful outside the off stump with the bat.

Follow these simple rules and there is no better place to play.

What baffled me was that England did the opposite of how the blueprint reads.

A couple of conversations, a change of mindset for these conditions and a willingness to play a style required here, could have made a huge difference.

Instead, their batters threw their hands at danger, fed the Australian slips corden and consequently sat in the changing rooms with their tails between their legs.

They then bowled with what looked like little planning, and/or preparation.

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor said: “England are drowning, and the lifeguards keep changing.”

His opinion was aimed at England’s constant changes to batting order, bowling plans and personnel.

Like any business model will tell you, poor planning and preparation usually leads to poor performance.

While we only see the innings and results — and not the hours in the nets, the gym, or reviewing the data — we do know that life tends to reward silent, steady, relentless preparation for success.

It also tends to kick you up the backside if you take any shortcuts.

Lesson two: Discipline is not a dirty word

At the end of the series, I was doing an interview with Stuart Broad on his podcast.

Not long into the chat, Broad used the word ‘discipline’, or lack of it, from his countrymen. As he said it, he lowered his tone as if it’s not cool to use the word discipline anymore.

Aggrieved by this, I arked up and said: “Hang on a minute mate, I am sick and tired of hearing that discipline is a bad thing. All discipline is, are the choices you make. Some big, some small. Without making good choices, on and off the field, you simply won’t survive and succeed.”

Australia’s bowling was so disciplined and tight that they were the difference in the series. They were discipled in the field, and more disciplined than England with the bat.

These strengths reminded me that, ‘the pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment.’

Tell me of one success story that doesn’t display consistent traits of discipline?

Lesson three: Nor is the word, technique

You can have the best mindset and enthusiasm in the world. You can talk the best game and get caught up in the new-world ethos, of “we just want to play and have fun”.

It’s great to play with passion and energy, but if you haven’t got the skills to execute the team’s plans or stay out in the middle then you won’t survive.

As with the word discipline, the word technique, especially in batting has become a taboo word in today’s market.

Batting technique incorporates stance, footwork, weight transference, hand-speed, shape, and focus on the ball. Without these you will spend more time watching the game than playing it, especially against high-class bowling.

We saw a lot this lack of batting technique and skill execution through this Ashes.

Like discipline, building skills or a sound technique takes time, energy, focus and frustration. Not talking about it makes no sense to me.

It would be like saying a journalist has the best typing skills, and great ideas, but can’t string a sentence together, or a café owner whose shop has a nice ambience and friendly staff but doesn’t know how to make coffee.

Attitude, without skill, rarely succeeds. Skill and method are critical.

Lesson four: Patience is power

Test cricket, like life and business, is not a game of constant reward.

It is a game of waiting.

You wait for opportunity. You wait for momentum. You wait for the moment when preparation finally meets its time. In Test cricket, you don’t rush. You wait for the right moment. You leave the good ball; you capitalize on the bad one. You trust your preparation.

Australia’s bowlers taught us about the power of patience, not passive patience, but active patience. The kind that demands focus, resilience, and belief when progress feels slow.

In cricket, if a bowling group bowls three or more consecutive maiden overs, the statistical results of success are stark. When a batter has the patience to wear down the bowler’s, through attack or defence, they are rewarded.

The humble and brilliant Scott Boland said: “I just tried to hit the seam, over and over and over.”

Twelve words. Understated but a reminder that mastery often sounds simple.

Life and business are the same. Panic rarely produces clarity, calm and patience do.

Lesson five: Adapt or die

Conditions change: the pitch, the weather, the ball, your body. You must respect your opponent, the game, and yourself.

England talked about learning from their ‘Bazball’ style and yet they continued to use a method which wasn’t working. What works in some places doesn’t work everywhere.

In life and in business, those who thrive are not necessarily the most talented, they are the most adaptable, the ones willing to reassess, adjust, and keep moving forward, while learning from their good days and bad.

Lesson six: Partnerships are gold

Test cricket values partnerships. Your success is tied to your teammates. Batting partnerships, bowlers bowling in tandem to build pressure and fielders providing skill and energy to create chances.

In this Test series, wicketkeeper Alex Carey provide a new definition for a cricket partnership.

Not only did he take all his catches and stumpings, but he also spent a lot of time standing up at the stumps to the fast bowlers. This method required high levels of skill and courage. It also played on the England batters minds and provided a distinct advantage to the bowlers and the team.

In success, individual effort is critical, but shared responsibility amplifies results. Great teams are built on trust, shared standards, and a willingness to put the group ahead of the individual. Talent might win moments. Teams win seasons and series.

Lesson seven: Stay humble or mother cricket will come knocking

Cricket teaches humility.

Even the best players fail more often than they succeed. A batter can do everything right and still be out. A leader can make the right call and still face setbacks. A bowler has no control of how the batter reacts to their delivery.

The key is to stay level through success and failure.

If you don’t, ‘Mother Cricket’ aka ‘Life’ will find a way to keep you grounded.

When all is said and done, Australia’s success in this Ashes series reflect some of these themes. Their experience shone through when it mattered the most, as did their skill and camaraderie. That’s why the Ashes remains in Australian hands.

Test cricket, like life, is a long game.

If we prepare well, stay patient, respect the process, remain humble and work together, that’s where real success lives.