Iconic Matthew Hayden’s Innings
Matthew Hayden broke Brian Lara’s record
Back in 2003, on this day. West Indies icon Brian Lara’s record for the highest individual score in Test cricket was broken by Matthew Hayden’s astonishing triple century in Perth’s first Test against Zimbabwe.
In addition to topping Lara’s 1994 score of 375 against England in St. John, Hayden scored 380 off 437 deliveries, slamming 38 fours and 11 sixes on way to his first Triple Century.
Hayden’s First triple century
Simon Katich and Hayden opened the batting in the first innings of the Test match in Perth. The seasoned opener took over Australia’s innings after Katich’s abrupt departure. He recorded his first triple century in a Test match and surpassed all previous opening batsmen scorers. Australia was able to declare the innings with a massive total of 735/6 thanks to Hayden’s remarkable score. They defeated Zimbabwe by an innings and 175 runs.
The record lasted for less than 5-months
The Australian’s record only lasted for five months before Lara broke the record again. Playing against England at the same stadium where he scored 375 ten years earlier, recovered the top spot with a massive 400*.
Hayden’s Debut test match
If we look Hayden’s career shows that he was a replacement for an injured Mark Taylor in a 1994’s match against South Africa, where he made his Test debut. He scored 15 and 5 in his debut Test match, falling short of making an impression.
First Test Century
Three years later, against West Indies, he scored his first Test century (125). Averaging only 24.1 over the course of six tests. Including four ducks, the century was unable to prevent his dismissal from the team. Due to the selectors’ preference for Taylor and Matthew Elliott over the course of the following few years, he was cut from the team.
Hayden’s Domestic Career
Hayden played first-class cricket for Queensland during this time and was a productive batsman. He was able to revive his international career as a result of his strong domestic cricket performances. He got to play against the West Indies in the summer of 2000 and on the 1999–2000 New Zealand tour. Although his performance in those series was still lacking, he was nonetheless chosen for the 2001 tour of India and the rest is history.
He was the first person to accomplish the milestone five times, scoring more than 1,000 runs in five straight years. Wisden named him one of the top five cricketers in the world in 2003.
The End of Hayden’s Illustrious Cricket career
Hayden held a news conference at the Gabba on January 13, 2009, and declared his goodbye to international cricket. The announcement came after a string of underwhelming performances during South Africa’s and New Zealand’s tours of Australia, during which he failed to surpass fifteen runs in nine innings.
Hayden was lauded by teammates Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer as the best Australian opener. According to statistics, People acknowledged Hayden as one of the greatest openers ever to play the game, having scored 30 hundreds.
