Matthew Lawrence Hayden was an Australian cricketer who played for the country for 15 years. The Queenslander, who was born on October 29, 1971, was a left-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler. Hayden had a golden era from 2001 to 2005, where he hit 1000 runs on three separate occasions.
Background
Hayden represented Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, featuring in 101 games and scoring 8831 runs at an average of 54.85. In the domestic circuit, he kept piling up runs after runs, showing that he was hungry for more.
Hayden scored 24,603 runs in his first-class career, averaging 52.57 runs per game. He didn’t seem to be aware of an average below 50.
Hayden was a powerful striker of the ball who had outstanding concentration skills. He made his mark in cricket by hitting 149 in his first first-class innings.
Debut
In 1993, Hayden made his One-Day International debut against England. He scored 29 runs in the contest, which the Aussies won by just four runs.
A year back, he made his much-anticipated test debut against South Africa, scoring just 15 runs. The Australians were out for 197 runs. He was finally thrown off the roster. At the outset of his career, he was unable to establish himself.
Rise to Glory
Hayden silenced those who questioned his technical skills by dominating India in the 2001 season. He slog-swept his way to 549 runs in a three-match series, a new Australian record.
For the Australians, Hayden and Justin Langer formed a potent opening duo.
Against Zimbabwe, he had his best performance of his career. In Perth, he hammered the hapless Zimbabwe team with a mammoth 380 runs. At the moment, his numbers were remarkable, as he had 20 world centuries in just 50 games.
Club Career
Hayden played for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, where he wore the yellow jersey. He scored 1107 runs in 32 innings, with a strike rate of 137.52. In 2009, he was awarded the orange cap after scoring 572 runs.
Low Points
Hayden shattered a pavilion window in Sydney during the New Year’s Test against England in 2003 after disagreeing with an umpire’s decision to throw him out. He was fined as a result of the incident.
Cricket Australia also threatened him with calling Harbhajan Singh a “obnoxious little plant.”
Retirement
On January 13, 2009, Hayden announced his retirement from international cricket. His decision to retire was influenced by an Achilles heel.
He was one of the greatest openers in the history of the game. He finished with 15016 international runs at a 47.45 average.
Until retirement, Hayden has been a columnist for Channel 9 and has expressed his view.