Matthew Hayden

Former Australian Test Cricketer

Matthew Hayden is a former test cricketer whose authoritative yet level-headed approach and talents as a left-hander, established him as the world’s premier opening batsman. Matthew’s confidence and exceptional powers of concentration saw him emerge as a prolific and consistent scorer at the top of the order for Australia, and secured his place amongst batting's elite.

Matthew Hayden’s reputation as a hard-hitting opening batsman saw him make his international debut in 1993 against England. His breakthrough finally came in Australia's 2000/2001 tour of India, in which he stood alone amongst the Australian batsmen. He went on to score a record 1391 runs in Test cricket in 2001 including centuries in four consecutive Tests against South Africa.

In 2002 Matthew was the runaway winner of Australian cricket's highest individual accolade, the Allan Border Medal, and named Australia's most outstanding Test Player of the Year. Confirmation of his status amongst the top echelon of batsmen was given when Matthew recorded the highest individual score of 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth in 2003, surpassing the previous mark of 375 held by the West Indies' Brian Lara. Though Lara reclaimed the mark, Matthew’s innings remains the fastest triple century in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (362).

Matthew was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2003 and in September 2004 was named by the ICC in the World Test Cricket Team of the year. In 2004 Matthew scored in excess of 1000 Test runs for the fourth consecutive year, the first batsman in the history of the game to do so. In January 2009, Mathew retired from domestic and international cricket after having played 103 Test matches, scoring 8624 runs with a batting average 50.74, and making 128 catches.

Matthew Hayden's attitude to life and cricket is indomitable and not quite typical. From a rural upbringing and a boarding school education, his taste for the outdoors, good food and family offer a familiar and likable counterpoint to his dizzying exploits as one of our most potent cricketers. He has rewritten the role description for a cricket legend. He has also written two highly successful cookbooks.

Rewarded by his sport with every honour on offer, 'Haydos' is active in the community through his involvement with World Youth Day and the Jane McGrath Cancer Foundation. He is an ambassador for the Fatherhood Foundation and the Eat, Well, Be Active campaign.