Justin Langer, another Australian cricketing pillar after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, announced his retirement after the last Ashes test beginning tomorrow.The 36-year-old Langer, who will take guard in his 105th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, said he wanted to retire at the top of his game."I know that I am on top of my game. Statistically, it has not been a great (Ashes) series, but I know how that I am hitting the ball and catching the ball as good as ever," Langer told reporters in Sydney."As hard and emotional as it is to not wear the baggy green cap again, I know in my heart it's the right thing to do," he said adding "they say to go out on your own terms and when you're on top of your game, and I feel as if I'm doing that."Langer is the sixth highest Australian run-getter with 7,650 runs, which includes 23 Test centuries.Langer and Matthew Hayden has been Australia's most prolific opening partners with a joint account of 5,574 runs at an average of 51.61 - the second best behind Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes of the West Indies. The Caribbean duo accumulated 6,482 runs after playing together for 13 years while Langer and Hayden's partnership is just five-year-old.Cricket Australia paid tributes to Langer saying he had epitomised what it meant to wear the baggy green cap."Justin recently became the first West Australian and only the 10th Australian to play 100 Tests for Australia," said CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland."That in itself is a rare accomplishment and is a measure of his achievements as a cricketer, and is a tribute to his ability to fight his way back to the top after setbacks early in his international career. "The pride and dignity with which he represented his country, and the calm authority he has exercised within a team of great, once-in-a-lifetime champions, is something cricket fans will remember most," he said.
