I am getting tired of playing England Humdingers: Langer

Sydney, Dec 7 (UNI) Australian opener Justin Langer says he is tired of playing 'heart-stoppers' against England and feels that the Ashes encounters between the two sides have become a nightmare for the weak of heart.

''I am getting tired of playing England. Not because I don't love the contest of Ashes cricket but because five of our last seven encounters have been nothing short of heart-stoppers,'' Langer wrote in his column for 'BBC Sport'.

''For the weak of heart, these Test matches must be becoming a nightmare, just as they are for all of the players concerned. It's one thing to put on a great show but another to have to endure such nail-biting finishes every time we meet,'' he added.

Langer, however, agreed that the nail-biting contests were a delight for the spectators and have helped in reviving Test cricket.

''For the game of cricket, these extraordinary fights to the very end are an awesome promotion of this great game. The tension, the drama, the theatre are nothing short of pure sporting entertainment between two great rivals,'' he said.

''The problem is our nerves are becoming so frayed that I am not sure how much more we can handle... joking of course!'' Langer felt England paid for a temporary loss of concentration, which was caused by the 'genius' of Shane Warne, who took a match-winning four wickets on the last day.

''The beauty of the game lies in its intricacies. Like a marathon game of chess, you can't afford to lose your concentration for a moment. Here at the beautiful Adelaide Oval, England did just that.'' ''Succumbing to the pure genius and suffocating pressure of the great Warne, the visitors lost momentum and, within two hours of a five-day Test match, handed us an irresistible opportunity to steal an impossible victory,'' he said.

Langer said skipper Ricky Ponting's pep talk on the morning of day three was the biggest motivation for the World Champions to clinch the unexpected win in the Adelaide Test.

''With steel in his eyes, he said: 'Everyone has written us off and thinks we are going to lose here. Well, let's just see about that. We have a fight on our hands, let's see if we can't just do something about it, hey.'' ''His response sent a chill up my spine as I was again reminded of just how much this series means to our skipper and to this team,'' Langer recalled.

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