'Physically sick' after Headingley, Langer dusts himself off for new challenge

Australia were denied a win in Leeds only because of Ben Stokes' brilliance and some uncharacteristic mistakes on the field as they were put under pressure in the final moments of the game. The result left him shocked and "physically sick", Langer admitted.

"Everyone in that change room, probably a lot of Australians as well, felt completely sick after that. I actually felt physically sick after it. I went back to my room, I wasn't sure whether to cry my eyes out or smash my hotel room," he said on Monday, 2 September, as the team prepared for the fourth Test in Manchester.

"The last week of coaching has probably been one of the most challenging weeks of my coaching career," he said. "That said, as challenging as it has been, it's been awesome, I've loved this last week of coaching."

Making the defeat harder to take was not only knowing how close they had got, but also keeping in mind how much work they had put in, the coach explained. "For most people it's just a game of cricket, but when so much goes into it, it means a lot. You do take it personally because I know how much work's going into it. That was the biggest part of losing last week, that we felt we were so close and we let it slip.

"That's OK, we'll make sure we learn from it, we'll learn a lot of lessons from that, short term and long term, and hopefully we can do it better next time."

With the five-match series at 1-1, Australia know that they can retain the Ashes with another win. They have been rejoined by Steve Waugh, the former captain, who was with the touring party for the first couple of Tests, to mentor the side ahead of the fourth Test, which starts on Wednesday.

"We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen the other day," Langer said. "Now we've got to work out what we're going to do and use that as fire. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves and let it slip.

"Think about Muhammad Ali getting his bike stolen [as a child]. That was the fire he needed to become the greatest boxer of all time. The great players and great teams – in business and life – they have their ups and downs but they always fight back from it."

Having recovered from a concussion, Steve Smith returns to the side for the fourth Test. The former captain spent plenty of time at the nets practising against fast bowling, keen to prevent the kind of blow he copped from a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's. Langer agreed Smith might be carrying the mental effects of being struck, but backed his batsman to quickly overcome it.

"When you get hit, it's always a little voice on your shoulder," he said. "I also know about Steve Smith, and the really good players, you've got to have strategies to score runs and not get out – it's the same to not get hit. You've got to have a good strategy, and he works the game out better than anyone I've ever met in my life.

"If anyone's going to get over any little demons, it'll be Steven."