Would have been my next pickView attachment 291933
MATTHEW HAYDEN
I can honestly say I am shocked to find that Matthew Hayden is still available. Very few Test opening batters have been as good at defining matches as Hayden was: he scored 30 centuries in his 103 Test matches, and converted more than half of his 50+ scores into centuries - and one of them into a then-World Record 380. But as good as Hayden's overall numbers were, they belie just how absurdly excellent he was during an eight-year purple patch that began with his recall to the Australian team in March 2000. In that period, he averaged 56.20 with the bat across 87 Test matches, scoring a century once every three matches. In that time, he averaged over 40 and scored centuries against every opponent but one: Bangladesh was his kryptonite, specifically something about Mashrafe Mortaza's bowling that Hayden found tricky early in his innings. However, it wouldn't be farfetched to say that that was his only batting weakness.
1.
2. Matthew Hayden
3. Brian Lara
4.
5.
6.
7. Bob Taylor
8.
9. Courtney Walsh
10. Glenn McGrath
11.
View attachment 291936
@pillowprocter
There's also evidence to suggest he underperformed...I can honestly say I am shocked to find that Matthew Hayden is still available. Very few Test opening batters have been as good at defining matches as Hayden was: he scored 30 centuries in his 103 Test matches, and converted more than half of his 50+ scores into centuries - and one of them into a then-World Record 380. But as good as Hayden's overall numbers were, they belie just how absurdly excellent he was during an eight-year purple patch that began with his recall to the Australian team in March 2000. In that period, he averaged 56.20 with the bat across 87 Test matches, scoring a century once every three matches. In that time, he averaged over 40 and scored centuries against every opponent but one: Bangladesh was his kryptonite, specifically something about Mashrafe Mortaza's bowling that Hayden found tricky early in his innings. However, it wouldn't be farfetched to say that that was his only batting weakness.