On a happy hunting ground
Published : Oct 11, 2008 00:00 IST
Matthew Hayden, the imposing Aussie opener, has tasted success in India and is confident of continuing the trend. V. V. Subrahmanyam caught up with him in Hyderabad.
Matthew Hayden resembles a boxer. So the awesome power he generates into those extravagant strokes is understandable. So is the striking prowess of this Australian opener, who has an incredible 30 centuries in 94 Tests. And in India, on a familiar terrain with excellent record, this Aussie powerhouse is all geared up for another round of “classic duels” with the Indian bowlers.
“This may be my last visit to India. And I want to make it memorable by helping my team with big scores once again,” says Hayden. “It is always a pleasure to play the game in this part of the world. The passion is unbelievable and the fans know so much about cricket and always appreciate the performers,” he complimented the Indian cricket lovers.
“The preparations have to be different when you play in India. For instance, I recall that my training stint with the spinners in Chennai before the last series helped me a lot in tackling the attack of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble.
“That is when I perfected the sweep stroke. And, also it is not just all about cricket and facing quality opponents. You have to be mentally and physically tough to cope with the playing conditions and the boisterous crowds.
“You need to be a lot more patient,” the Aussie opener explained. “Definitely, this series should be challenging for we will be playing an Indian team which is so well-settled and with a huge home advantage,” he said.
Reflecting on the last series in India, Hayden says that they (Aussies) were pretty defensive, setting deep fields which helped them to win. “That is the way we will go about it again. It is difficult for both teams, against their nature, to play a defensive game but we did taste success last time. It’s going to be very interesting to see how things shape up this time around,” he explained.
Will he be trying for a “sweeping” success this time around too? “That was a stroke which I practised a lot for the earlier series against the spinners. It worked really well for me and I may continue to do that,” Hayden remarked.
About whether this tour would be less emotional compared to the previous clash in Australia, he said that there was no bad blood amongst the players. “I think the way forward is to play competitive cricket in the right spirit. What happened in the last series is in the past.”
“It is not right to say that Aussies are more vulnerable now. The reality is that we are moving towards building a very strong squad capable of playing solid cricket,” he explained. Hayden feels that he may not be around for the next World Cup, but does see a role for himself in the Australian line-up for some more time.