A left-handed batsman, Langer is best known for his partnership with Matthew Hayden as Australia's test opening batsmen during the early and mid-2000s, considered one of the most successful ever.

Representing Western Australia domestically, Langer played English county cricket for Middlesex and also Somerset.

Langer's retirement came after several injuries had restricted his batting, including a concussion sustained during Australia's 2005–06 tour of South Africa.

[4] On 3 May 2018, Langer was announced as coach of the Australian national cricket team, following a ball tampering scandal which led to the resignation of Darren Lehmann.

[7] He received a rough welcome against an in-form West Indian bowling attack, including being hit on the back of the head by his very first ball in Test cricket, delivered by Ian Bishop, who went on to become a close friend in later life.

In the fifth and final Test of the series, Langer only managed to score 11 runs between his two innings in a match that was dominated by the bowling of Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop.

He was subsequently dropped, and other than a few scattered appearances did not return to the Australian Test team until October 1998, for the tour of Pakistan.

In November 1999 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, he shared a match-winning 238-run partnership with Adam Gilchrist to rescue Australia from 126/5 chasing a victory target of 369 against Pakistan.

[11] Langer was a number three batsman until 2001 when he was dropped after failing to convert a series of starts during Australia's 2–1 loss in India.

[12] Shortly after though, he replaced Michael Slater as an opening batsman for the final 2001 Ashes series Test at The Oval where he celebrated his return with a century.

Langer then suffered a number of injuries, increasing the pressure on selectors to drop him for rising star Phil Jaques.

In doing so, he joined Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath who had both announced their retirements earlier in the month, and it came only three matches after the surprise departure of Damien Martyn.

[13] He came to the decision during the previous match in Melbourne, having earlier decided against retiring after the tour of South Africa to help Australia reclaim the Ashes.

He became the highest run-scorer for Western Australia in 4-day matches, after passing Tom Moody's old record of 8853 runs on 5 December 2007 against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval.

In his first season, he scored his maiden century in English domestic cricket in superb fashion with 233 not out against Somerset at Lord's, in the same match that he was awarded his county cap.

[43] In June 2006 it was announced that he would join Somerset later that month for six weeks, while fellow countryman Dan Cullen was on duty with Australia A.

On 20 July 2006, he made his highest first-class score of 342 playing for Somerset in a County Championship match against Surrey at the Woodbridge Road ground in Guildford.

During his six-week spell at the club, Langer also enjoyed particular success in the Twenty20 competition, topping the batting charts along with fellow Australian Cameron White.

[45] On 20 April 2007 he became the first Somerset player to score two triple centuries in the County Championship when he hit 315 against Middlesex in a match noted for its batting.

He commented in an interview with BBC Somerset that he was in discussions to potentially return at some point to the county in the future in a coaching capacity.

[50] Langer played his last home game in English domestic cricket on 27 September 2009, captaining Somerset against Durham in the Nat West Pro40.

Speculation hence rose in the media with suggestions of a coaching position with Middlesex, and an open invitation to return to Somerset in some capacity.

[56] In November 2012, Langer was appointed to the position of senior coach of Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers, after the resignation of Lachlan Stevens, with a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season.

It was noted before the game that Langer had got Australia to walk barefoot around the edge of Edgbaston before the match in a bid to capture "positive energy coming out of the earth".

[60] Langer was announced as the head coach of Lucknow Super Giants in July 2023 replacing Andy Flower.

When resident in Somerset, the family stayed in a rented home in Hatch Beauchamp: "Mate, I say this with the utmost affection and respect, but it's like living in the olden days.