From a man I can’t abide, but who will call it as he sees it. Ian Chappell puts Hayden up there among the really good, but not the greats and says a lot in common with what I’ve said. I think his contrast with Michael Slater, and to a lesser extent Sehwag, is interesting. I’m not as sold on Sehwag as others, particularly as, funnily enough, his record against England is pretty poor when compared to what he does to the Aussies and South Africans. I think he is the chief beneficiary of poor bowling attacks with his lack of feet movement. He does, however, have a stunning eye, and an attitude to die for. But will it see him through his career.
I was, and still am, a massive fan of Michael Slater, who was as brilliant an opener as I could have wished to see (and only did once in the flesh when he scored a lovely 90 odd at the SCG for New South Wales), and Chappell clearly rates Slater higher for the quality of attacks he scored his runs against, and how Hayden never seemed to cope as well.
A couple of excerpts…
“It should be recalled that Hayden rarely played in the highly successful Australian side from the mid-to late nineties because Slater was regularly dominating opposition fast bowling. The pair made their first tour to England in 1993, where Slater won the battle to be Mark Taylor’s opening partner. Slater’s position at the top of the order was never seriously challenged from then, until he began to encounter health problems. That was a big plus in Slater’s favour.”
“The other big decider is that Slater encountered superior pace bowling – bowlers of the highest calibre in Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Allan Donald, Fanie de Villiers and Darren Gough at or near their peak, and flayed them on occasions.
Against those same bowlers Hayden had some of his worst moments, albeit early in his Test career. When he returned to the Australian side the standard of fast bowling had dropped off considerably. And Hayden’s dip in form against the good attacks of England 2005 and more recently India and the current South African side was a reminder of his early-career struggles. ”
