Hayden - Simply the Best

[Donny]

Simply the best

Dileep Premachandran

October 10, 2003

The cricket-hype-machine cries wolf more often than the boy ever did. As a result, even the canny enthusiast finds it hard to separate baloney from reality. That cry-wolf phenomenon may well explain why Matthew Lawrence Hayden has never really got his due, despite having been the world's pre-eminent batsman since 2001.

Adam Gilchrist is easier on the eye than perhaps any other batsman in recent memory, while Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting possess a greater array of strokes. Rahul Dravid has a more pleasing technique, and the upright elegance of Michael Vaughan has its admirers, as does Inzamam-ul-Haq's power and finesse. And there's there Brian Lara, the genius who raises his game for the big occasion, whether that be a tussle against Muttiah Muralitharan or a joust against the Aussies. But if statistics are a guide to separating the wheat from the chaff – and they do a fair job of that in cricket – then Hayden is a country mile ahead of everyone else.

Starting with that breakthrough series in India in 2001 – where he made 549 runs without ever being troubled – Hayden has made 3000 runs – Perth epic excluded - from 31 Tests, at a staggering average of 65.22. No one else has managed even 2500 runs – Tendulkar is next in line with 2395, marginally ahead of Ponting (2381), Vaughan (2316), Dravid (2292) and Lara (2271). The next best average among those with over 2000 runs is Lara's 63.08, from ten fewer matches.

More importantly, Hayden dominates the opposition in a manner not seen since Sir Donald Bradman's heyday. He has 13 centuries – and 9 fifties – from those 31 matches, comfortably clear of Ponting (10 from 30) and Tendulkar (7 from 26). In his second avatar, he has scored 50 or more almost every other innings – not quite Bradmanesque, but significantly more impressive than his more celebrated peers.

No statistics can reveal however the bravery and strength that went into one of the defining innings of our age, his 119 against Pakistan – who replied with 53 and 59 – in oven-like conditions in Sharjah last year. In 50 degrees Celsius temperatures where bowlers and batsmen alike wilted, Hayden batted for over seven hours – even finding the time to bait Shoaib Akhtar when he wasn't creaming him past point or midwicket. It was the sort of innings that no one else could have played, one man's Herculean strength and bloody-mindedness coming together to script cricket's version of The Triumph of the Will.

Had he been a will-o-wipsy shotmaker like David Gower, Hayden might have been acknowledged as the finest around, and elicited the sort of paeans usually devoted to Tendulkar, Lara, Vaughan and company. Instead, he is the quintessential Aussie, a follower of the hard yakka tradition who's fond of a beer, his fly-fishing rod and surfboard – not for him the Fancy Dan image or manufactured sound-bite.

When we chatted during the ICC Knockout Trophy in Colombo last year, I asked him to make sense of the tremendously rich vein of form that he had been able to mine. His answer was revealing. "Hitting the cricket ball well is sort of addictive," he said, flexing the tendons on those massive forearms. Today, he took that addiction to unprecedented levels, and it wasn't just the crowd at the WACA that were transported to an unforgettable high.

[Donny]

Hayden leaves Lara in his wake
Lynn McConnell - October 10, 2003

Matthew Hayden once said the stimulation he received from hitting a cricket ball - and hitting it well - would never wane. Zimbabwe found that out the hard way today as Hayden put every other Test match batting record in the shade en route to an unforgettable 380. The day revolved around his remarkable achievement to such an extent that it was almost forgotten that Australia amassed 735 for 6, the highest total in 126 years of cricket on Australian soil, before taking pity on Zimbabwe's bowlers.

To their credit, Zimbabwe made a brave fist of it in the final session, reaching 61 before Jason Gillespie blasted a ball through Dion Ebrahim's defence to bowl him for 29. By stumps, there were 79 for one wicket, still a small ocean short of the 536 needed to avoid the follow-on.

But whatever be your perspective, this was Hayden's day, as he once again revealed the hunger of the late starter. Not only did he surpass the 375 scored by Brian Lara against England at Antigua in 1993-94, but he became only the second Australian to score a triple century on home soil - something beyond even a certain Donald George Bradman. His energy levels never ebbed, and 400 was a distinct possibility - especially after Steve Waugh decided to let the batsmen come back out after tea - when he pulled a ball from Trevor Gripper to backward square leg, where Stuart Carlisle took a low tumbling catch.

The record was just reward for a batsman who has been the outstanding performer of the 21st century, and with four Tests still to play in the calendar year, Hayden finds himself well within reach of 1000 runs - he has 837 after this epic - in a year for the third successive time.

The straight drive proved a reliable, and punishing, weapon throughout his innings. There were also flashing cuts and disdainful pulls aplenty. With the attack enfeebled to such an extent that they appeared to be on some mediocre auto-pilot, Hayden was also more inclined to loft the ball straight. He ended his innings having struck 11 sixes, one short of equalling Wasim Akram's world record.

Hayden's inexorable progress past successive milestones meant that Adam Gilchrist's truly remarkable cameo - if you can call a century that - was relegated to the shade. He finished with 113 not out - his ninth Test century - perhaps the only time in the history of the game that an 84-ball hundred has had to play second fiddle. Gilchrist did manage some crumbs of comfort from the record-breaking table, as both batsmen made over a hundred runs between lunch and tea.

Hayden, who had also scored a century between tea and stumps yesterday, joined Walter Hammond - who achieved the feat against New Zealand at Auckland in 1932-33 - as the only man to do that twice in the same innings.

Sean Ervine may have achieved his career-best figures with four wickets, but they came at a cost of 146 runs. Gripper, who dropped Hayden at midwicket, when he offered his only chance at 335, finished with 2 for 142, as five bowlers went for over 100 runs.

The only thing that Zimbabwe managed to do right was to deny Steve Waugh the unique honour of having scored a hundred at each of Australia's contemporary Test grounds. Waugh had been untroubled on his way to 78, but Sean Ervine got one to catch the inside edge and rebound high into the air off the pad, following up well enough to snaffle a difficult chance.

The rest of the day was all about one man's tryst with history. Hayden has often professed to a fondness for fly-fishing, and today, the bait he used snared the biggest fish of them all. Goodbye Brian Lara, hello Matthew Hayden - king of the batting mountain.

[Donny]

The invisible hero
Chris Ryan - October 10, 2003

This piece on Mathew Hayden first appeared in the December 2002 issue of Wisden Asia Cricket.

Matthew Hayden's face does not haunt TV ads, unlike Adam Gilchrist. He does not stare back at you from magazine covers, unlike Brett Lee or Steve Waugh. He has never had a book written about him, unlike almost all his team-mates. He has never even been judged a Wisden cricketer of the year, either in England or Australia [After this piece appeared, Hayden was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 2002-03].

There is a strong case for saying Hayden is the greatest cricketer in the world today. Thirty-six years ago John Lennon incensed millions when he claimed the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus". If Hayden uttered the cricketing equivalent – that he is "bigger than Bradman" – few people would blink twice. Indeed, he doesn't have to say it; countless others are saying it for him.

Yet if that is true, it is equally true that he is one of the most unsuper superstars the game has known. He is not unliked, nor unadmired, but he is curiously uncelebrated. Maybe it has something to do with where he bats. From the swashbucklers of yore (Fred Spofforth, Syd Barnes, Bradman, George Headley) through to the modern-day maestros (Dennis Lillee, Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne), cricket's genuine giants have invariably been middle-order batsmen, spinners or ferocious fast men. Openers, whose job description includes an unglamorous pinch of grit and guts, tend not to dazzle the senses.

But this, if it is a factor at all, is a miniscule one. Going in first did not stop Sunil Gavaskar, Jack Hobbs or Victor Trumper from becoming famous. Maybe it has something to do with the team he plays for. Steve Waugh's Australians are respected by all but resented by many. Children adore them but some old-timers quake at their ruthlessness, their fondness for the tactics of "mental disintegration". And Hayden, if his opponents are to be believed, is the doyen of disintegration.

But again, if this is a cause of Hayden's unsuperstardom, it is, at best, a marginal one. Maybe it has something to do with the way he plays: calm, pragmatic, in control, almost robotic in his unflappability. He has none of the flawed, tantalising genius of a Brian Lara or a Mark Waugh. Where, some may ask, is the romance in the man?

But they forget that Hayden was for years derided as the quintessential flat-attack bully: prolific against domestic trundlers, vulnerable against high-class spin or speed. It took him six years to play eight Tests. After a dozen matches his average was teetering in the mid-20s. If romance counts for anything, then the fall and rise of Matthew Hayden should have Mills & Boon knocking on his door any day now.

Maybe, indeed, it has something to do with those patchy beginnings in the early 1990s. People still remember how the young Hayden would poke grimly round his front pad. How he looked lost against the spinners. How his clunky footwork was exposed by Allan Donald and Curtly Ambrose. Maybe, they say, little has changed. Maybe he is merely lucky, a beneficiary of his times, when all the powerful young fast bowlers of the world – bar Shaun Pollock and Shoaib Akhtar – play for the same team he does.

But if there is anyone left who truly questions Hayden's mettle then they are ignoring the bleeding obvious. In the past two years, starting with the 2001 tour of India, he has clouted 10 Test hundreds and averaged 73.88. Luck can explain only so much. No, the world's indifference to Hayden has as much to do with us as him. He defies the coaching manual. He routinely disproves everything we know to be true. And none of us, as a result, know quite what to make of him.

We are used to cheering batsmen who uncoil flowing off-drives and delicate glances. Hayden does that but he does much else besides. He hoicks over square-leg balls that are too full to pull. He clumps past the bowler balls that are too short to drive. Inswinging yorkers become half-volleys on his pads. Big-turning doosras become fodder for one of his vast repertoire of sweep shots.

Often his timing is astray, but he swings and follows through so hard that it matters little. On occasion he still trips over his feet, but he belongs to that select band of philosophers who reckon footwork is overrated. During the recent Gabba Test against England, one sometimes felt his opening partner Justin Langer was playing much the better of the two. Yet Langer finished the match with scores of 32 and 22. Hayden made 197 and 103. Then there's his physical approach which, again, is not quite like anything we have seen before. Against Pakistan Hayden turned convention on its head by verbally taking the fight up to Shoaib – needling him, egging him on to bowl faster and faster – rather than vice-versa. Langer didn't enjoy it much but Hayden ended the series with his customary 60-plus average. Australia's thoughtful coach John Buchanan remarked in a recent radio interview: "It's unusual to find a batsman who is intimidating but Hayden is one of those players … His presence on the field is intimidating to other teams."

He is a fast bowler in pads. He hits their best deliveries for four, so bowlers wonder where to bowl. He hits our expectations for six, so we wonder what to think. Almost 75 years ago another man had a similar effect. When Don Bradman started accumulating double-centuries the way everyone else accumulates dirty laundry, the world's first reaction was bewilderment. The experts thought him technically unsound and warned that he would soon come unstuck. He never did, of course, and uncertainty quickly turned into uninhibited devotion. Is history about to repeat itself? For most of his life Matthew Hayden has been a champion-in-waiting. At last, one senses, he is now a superstar-in-waiting.

[Donny]

380 ML Hayden Australia v Zimbabwe at Perth, 1st Test, 2003/04 [1661]
375 BC Lara West Indies v England at St John's, 5th Test, 1993/94 [1259]
365* GS Sobers West Indies v Pakistan at Kingston, 3rd Test, 1957/58 [450]
364 L Hutton England v Australia at The Oval, 5th Test, 1938 [266]
340 ST Jayasuriya Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), 1st Test, 1997/98 [1374]
337 Hanif Mohammad Pakistan v West Indies at Bridgetown, 1st Test, 1957/58 [446]
336* WR Hammond England v New Zealand at Auckland, 2nd Test, 1932/33 [226]
334* MA Taylor Australia v Pakistan at Peshawar, 2nd Test, 1998/99 [1426]
334 DG Bradman Australia v England at Leeds, 3rd Test, 1930 [196]
333 GA Gooch England v India at Lord's, 1st Test, 1990 [1148]
329 Inzamam-ul-Haq Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore, 1st Test, 2002 [1600]
325 A Sandham England v West Indies at Kingston, 4th Test, 1929/30 [193]
311 RB Simpson Australia v England at Manchester, 4th Test, 1964 [564]
310* JH Edrich England v New Zealand at Leeds, 3rd Test, 1965 [593]
307 RM Cowper Australia v England at Melbourne, 5th Test, 1965/66 [601]
304 DG Bradman Australia v England at Leeds, 4th Test, 1934 [236]
302 LG Rowe West Indies v England at Bridgetown, 3rd Test, 1973/74 [734]
299* DG Bradman Australia v South Africa at Adelaide, 4th Test, 1931/32 [215]
299 MD Crowe New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Wellington, 1st Test, 1990/91 [1162]
291 IVA Richards West Indies v England at The Oval, 5th Test, 1976 [781]
287 RE Foster England v Australia at Sydney, 1st Test, 1903/04 [78]
285* PBH May England v West Indies at Birmingham, 1st Test, 1957 [439]
281 VVS Laxman India v Australia at Calcutta, 2nd Test, 2000/01 [1535]
280* Javed Miandad Pakistan v India at Hyderabad (Sind), 4th Test, 1982/83 [946]
278 DCS Compton England v Pakistan at Nottingham, 2nd Test, 1954 [388]
277 BC Lara West Indies v Australia at Sydney, 3rd Test, 1992/93 [1208]

[I@n S]

yeah it was entertaining.. Didn't read all that stuff you mosted (be here forever LOL) But to be perfectly honest.. how long have Zimbabwe been playing Test Match cricket? Zimbabwe's bowling was the worst I've seen. I recon the local club I play for couldn've bowlded better to Australia it was that Terrible LOL..
As great as it was I can't see how it should count in the record books. Zimbabwe are no way near test level.. But having said that it gives other players a change to try and beat Haydons record against Zimbabwe.
Brian Lara must be itching to play them now and try to get his record back...

[Donny]

Some info for you, I@n.

Zimbabwe have been playing Test cricket for 12 years. They have played 67 Tests, winning 7 and only losing 37. They have beaten England and Pakistan twice.

In this Test, their bowling was good enough to dismiss Langer, Ponting, Martyn and Lehmann for a combined total of 152 and bear in mind, Hayden's first hundred took more than 5 hours.

We've had worse attacks touring here recently - England, Bangladesh - and no Aussie batsman has even scored a double hundred with Hayden's 197 (dropped 4 times) in Brisbane against England being the highest.

Zimbabwe have been on the big stage of world cricket for 23 years. They were elected an Associate member of the ICC on July 23rd, 1981 and in 1983 achieved a famous victory over Australia in the World Cup.

[Donny]

No-one could stop Hayden
By Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath
October 12, 2003

I DON'T care who we were playing in this Test - the mood I saw Matthew Hayden in for the first two days, I reckon he would have produced an innings like that against anyone.

What an innings! The only unfortunate thing is that, for the past couple of days, I've heard people say it was only the quality of the opposition that allowed him to get the highest score in the history of Test cricket.

It's a way for people to make out his innings wasn't as good because we were playing an inexperienced team like Zimbabwe. It's sad people have to revert to that.

To get the world record, as Haydos has just done, the concentration you require is phenomenal. I actually think you have to concentrate more against teams like Zimbabwe because you can fall into a trap of trying to play shots every ball and quite easily get out.

You just can't take anything away from Haydos and his achievement.

I look back at this year's World Cup when I got 7-15 against Namibia. Some will say it was only against Namibia, and sometimes I think that myself.

But, on proper reflection, I think of that day more for the way I felt and the way the ball was coming out. That was one of the best bowling days I've ever had, but because it was against Namibia, I think, doesn't make it any less.

Haydos can be quite intense and sometimes team meetings go for twice as long because he decides to have his say.

But he dominates an attack just as well as he can drag on a meeting.

For most bowlers, he is simply too big and too strong. He's one of the few batsmen in the world that can physically dominate a bowler, and that's his main strength.

The last thing I'll say is that I'm not that disappointed that Brian Lara no longer holds the world record!

oThe spirit of cricket has been a major talking point and we've now made it public by declaring the standards we're going to set and respect. We've defined our boundaries and hopefully the public will see we are making an effort to improve our image.

Unfortunately the past week has meant I've had to live with images of that confrontation between myself and Ramnaresh Sarwan earlier this year. It was an incident that really affected me for a number of reasons.

I made a conscious effort some time ago to brush up my behaviour and felt as though I'd been going okay, but for whatever reason that dragged me back.

I'm not about to justify what happened, but at that stage it was a tough time in both Jane's and my life because she had just been diagnosed with secondary cancer ... Normally, I'd never react the way I did, that aggressively ... I was disappointed with the way it was portrayed.

Now, in terms of that incident, I'm dealing with the whole situation a lot better. You can't change what's happened, unfortunately, but I think people should get on with things, to be honest.

This Spirit of Cricket document is something the players really wanted to do. We play with pride and passion, and yet we are labelled as sledgers.

Maybe we are a victim of our own success in that there's not many areas you can attack us, but I guess that's one area the opposition feels they can get a bit of an edge over us.

We put in the document that sledging was personal abuse and that's not what we're about and not what the game is about. We feel we have more respect for the game than that.

I know, personally, people have the right to make an opinion about me and that, sometimes, what I see on replay doesn't look good.

In the end I know I can still brush up on aspects of my game, and on-field behaviour is one of them.

[Donny]

For any Sports Bar readers who find the above long articles hard to read, I've lifted these few lines from the previous post. Very relevant.
------------------------------------------

"What an innings! The only unfortunate thing is that, for the past couple of days, I've heard people say it was only the quality of the opposition that allowed him to get the highest score in the history of Test cricket.

It's a way for people to make out his innings wasn't as good because we were playing an inexperienced team like Zimbabwe. It's sad people have to revert to that.

To get the world record, as Haydos has just done, the concentration you require is phenomenal. I actually think you have to concentrate more against teams like Zimbabwe because you can fall into a trap of trying to play shots every ball and quite easily get out.

You just can't take anything away from Haydos and his achievement"

[zoia]

well i remember wen lara got 375 against england i think. Now he got that score against there worst bowling attack ever...

[Donny]

Pretty spot on, Paul.

Some figures from Lara's world record compared to Hayden's:

BC Lara c Russell b Caddick 375 766 mins 538 balls 45 fours 0 sixes
ML Hayden c Carlisle b Gripper 380 622 mins 437 balls 38 fours 11 sixes

Hayden's innings took 2 hours and 24 minutes and 101 balls less than Lara's.

England's attack contained only one bowler who'd have any claims to being remembered as a good bowler - Angus Fraser - and he was not fast.

His opening partner was Andy Caddick, the third seamer was all-rounder Chris Lewis and their spinner was Phill Tufnell. Get the picture ? Oh, I forgot to mention the very part time offie, Graham Hick, who bowled 18 overs.

The other factor in Lara's knock was the wicket. Lara scored 375 out of 6/593. England also scored 593. The Windies innings took 180 overs and England's, 206. By comparison, Australia's 6/735 took just 146.

[Donny]

Hayden joins illustrious group
By Mike Coward
October 13, 2003

MATTHEW HAYDEN's extraordinary accomplishment adds substantial weight to the theory that left-handedness is associated with genius.

Indeed, cackhanders of vastly different stature and temperament have held the record for the highest individual innings in Test cricket for the past 45 years.

Hayden, a colossus, has assumed the mantle from Brian Lara, the enigmatic Lilliputian from Trinidad and Tobago, who in turn had won the honour from his mentor, inspiration, friend and fellow West Indian Garfield Sobers.

Until his captain Gerry Alexander allowed Sobers to inch ahead of Len Hutton's 364 in the third Test with Pakistan at Kingston, Jamaica, in February-March 1958 for his first Test century, the record had always been the preserve of right-handers.

As it happened, Sobers was destined to hold the record longer than any other of the great record-breakers - a phenomenal 36 years and one month - before Lara ran amok for his 375 on what he himself described as a marble top of a pitch at St Johns in Antigua in April, 1994.

And the photograph of Sobers coming on to the Recreation Ground to embrace his anointed successor as the genius among modern batsmen is an unforgettable image of the contemporary game.

To this end it was pleasing to learn Lara had taken the trouble to telephone with his congratulations to Hayden, perhaps an indication that he continues to grow as a man away from the middle.

The game has always been one of myriad statistics and the holder of the highest individual score in Test cricket has fascinated the sport's followers since Australia's second captain Will Murdoch scored Test cricket's first double century (211) in the third Test with England at The Oval in August, 1884.

Incidentally, Murdoch, who enjoyed a distinguished career with Sussex and played one Test for England in 1892, was the first scorer of a triple century in Australia for NSW against Victoria in an unending match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in February, 1882.

Only one other statistic resonates quite like the figure of Test cricket's highest individual run-scorer - Donald Bradman's career average of 99.94.

Now it is 380 that sits alongside the 99.94 to be talked about in wonder.

Inevitably, the Don also held the record for the highest individual score but only for two years and nine months until 29-year-old Wally Hammond, relieved to be clear of all the Bodyline angst in Australia, scored an undefeated 336 (with 10 sixes) against New Zealand at Auckland in March-April 1933.

But, along with Sobers, Bradman is the youngest to have achieved the feat. He was 21 when he scored his famous 334 at Headingley, Leeds, in July 1930 - 309 of them on the first day.

For the record, Hayden will turn 32 this month. Lara was 24 when he kissed the marble deck in Antigua.

Hammond had the honour for five years and four months until a 22-year-old Hutton played his famous hand of 364 at The Oval in 1938 - an occasion also remembered for Bradman fracturing his right ankle while bowling to a rampant England, who won by a phenomenal innings and 579 runs.

Hutton batted for 13 hours and 17 minutes - three hours and three minutes longer than Sobers.

But spare a thought for England opening batsman Andy Sandham, who became the first man to score 300 in a Test match but held on to his record for just 99 days before Bradman started his fascinating love affair with Headingley and the people of Yorkshire with his 334.

Furthermore, 39-year-old Sandham amassed 325 in his 14th and, astonishingly, final Test match at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica which was abandoned after persistent rain on the eighth and ninth days.

It was Sandham's misfortune to be scoring heavily in county cricket when his famous Surrey team-mate Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe were at the peak of their powers and he was consistently overlooked at selection.

There is some symmetry in Hayden setting this fantastic new mark in the opening Test match of the 2003-04 season.

It was in the first Test of 1903-04 at the SCG that Reg "Tip" Foster caused a sensation by scoring 287 in his first Test for England, so eclipsing Murdoch's record of 1884.

Indeed, only one double century was scored in the interim - by Syd Gregory against England in December 1894 and also at the SCG.

Foster, a gifted sportsman and the only man to have captained England at cricket and soccer, played just eight Test matches and died from the effects of diabetes at 36.

Like Sobers and Lara before him, Hayden has thrown down the challenge to the world's elite right-handers.

Given the nature of contemporary Test cricket, it will not be surprising if someone accepts the challenge in the very near future.

[Kristin5]

Matthew Hayden's batting performance was AWESOME. All credit to him - it shouldn't matter who the opposition was, as Donny's statistics have shown Matty's batting was superb and the record was well deserved.

If the opposition are such easy beats, why hasn't anyone else been able to break the individual batting record against them? How did other top batsmen go out to them? So many questions, so few answers... Do not take any credit away from Matty's performance as it was top class all the way!

Matty Hayden - you were magnificent. Stand up and take a bow!

[Donny]

Hayden one of the greats: Waugh
By Adam Cooper
October 13, 2003

MATTHEW Hayden's world record 380 was so good it left his captain gasping in awe and his opposition clueless.

The first Test between Australia and Zimbabwe at the WACA Ground will long be remembered as Hayden's Test, after the Australian opener joined cricket's immortals with his remarkable innings.

His weekend effort continued an equally-remarkable run of form, which – if he can maintain the standard of the past two years – could elevate Hayden into batting royalty.

"He's a great player, he will go down as one of the all-time greats, there's no doubt about that," Australian captain Steve Waugh said today.

Hayden has maintained an average of over 71 since establishing himself in Australia's team during the tour of India in 2001.

In that period he has amassed over 3000 runs and scored 14 centuries – at a rate of one every four innings.

Against Zimbabwe, he lifted the bar again.

His innings was one of those rare knocks in cricket, when a batsman is so untouchable that opposition teams run out of plans to dismiss him and must rely on him getting himself out.

Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak conceded as much today and said the Africans had to respect that Hayden was immovable for much of his 10 hours at the crease.

"There's times in cricket and in any sport that someone plays well, and as opposition, you've got to respect that," he said.

"It was an amazing innings and I think he thoroughly deserved it.

"It was obviously not easy to be on the receiving end of it, but we've got to admire what he's done and ... in a way it was special to be part of that."

Streak, one of five Zimbabwe bowlers who all conceded centuries of their own in Australia's 6(dec)-735, said he had never seen someone consistently hit the ball so well and so hard for such a long time.

"He was mistiming sixes, so it was a great innings," he said.

Waugh, who put on 207 for the fourth wicket with Hayden, often found himself reduced to the role of spectator.

"Sometimes you just watch him bat and you think 'I can't believe anyone could bat any better than this'," Waugh said.

"Right now he's the best batsman (in the world) and I think most players would agree with that.

"He's scored eight centuries in his last 15 Tests and when he gets hundreds, he scores them quickly and dominates the opposition and sets the tone for the rest of the innings.

[labrooy]

I hate it when people try to downplay Hayden's magnificent achievement by saying "look who he scored them against". Well cricket has been played for well over 100 years. There have been over 1000 test matches. Some of these games have involved very ordinary attacks on very good batting tracks and yet Hayden posted the largest score ever.

This test series needed something like this to raise interest and Matt did it. He is really stamping himself in the record books as one of the greatest batsman of all time and he has done it through a combination of talent and bloody hard work. Well done Matt!

[Donny]

Latest Test ratings:

1 Matthew Hayden AUS 895 57.67

2 Brian Lara WI 887 51.56

3 +3 Ricky Ponting AUS 847 52.73

4 -1 Rahul Dravid IND 809 54.38

5 -1 Adam Gilchrist AUS 806 60.25

6 -1 Inzamam-ul-Haq PAK 797 49.54

7 -1 Sachin Tendulkar IND 779 56.57

8 +6 Mark Richardson NZ 765 49.37

9 -1 Marcus Trescothick ENG 751 43.11

10 +1 Kumar Sangakkara SL 737 48.20

11 -1 Herschelle Gibbs SA 735 44.77

12 Steve Waugh AUS 731 51.25