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  Debasis Sen, Melbourne: Australian coach Justin Langer is never shy of taking suggestions as it proved to be on Monday. The former Australian opener invited AFL coaches Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan at the MCG on Christmas Eve, to share their stories and chatting with his boys ahead of the Boxing Day test match. Good friends Clarkson, Hawthorn's four-time premiership mentor, and Fagan, who has made great improvements at the Brisbane Lions in the past two seasons, were on deck at the invitation of Langer. Clarkson and Fagan mingled with support staff and Langer as Australia conducted a pitch inspection before Monday's training session. As the 13-man Test squad completed fielding drills and shuffled off to the nets, the three coaches came together for a long discussion in the outfield. Langer, who sits on the board of AFL club West Coast, is no stranger to the winter code that attracts bumper crowds to the home of the Boxing Day Test. Cricket Australia's decision to appoint two Test vice-captains, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh, in September after a player vote was borrowed from the AFL playbook. It's unlikely Clarkson or Fagan would have offered much tactical advice regarding how to dismiss India superstar Virat Kohli. However, Langer isn't afraid to look outside cricket's bubble in his bid to become a better coach. Langer has picked the brain of Clarkson, Australia's former hockey coach Ric Charlesworth and former Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos in recent years. "It was like gold. I had three hours of gold with Alastair Clarkson. It was brilliant," Langer said in 2016, when he was coaching a Perth Scorchers outfitting hunting a third consecutive Big Bash League title. "Mainly bigger picture stuff to be honest, we didn't specifically talk about winning. "We have very similar philosophies, personally and collectively as teams. "It's good to know we've all got the same problems and the same issues." Langer watched his beloved Eagles win the AFL grand final in September on a laptop in Australia's dressing room during a tour game in Dubai. Meanwhile, Langer has hinted Mitch Marsh may rerurn to the test fold in place of Peter Handscombe.