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Matt the bat now Matt the great

Craig

World Traveller
Article that appeared in today's Sunday Mail (Brisbane paper and is owned by News Ltd so it would probably be in the Sydney and Melbourne papers as well).

There you go

For those too lazy:

Magic Matt's No. 1
ANDREW DAWSON
05mar06

CRICKET'S bible Wisden has anointed Queensland's Matthew Hayden as the greatest Test batsman of the decade.

Hayden surpassed Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Saeed Anwar and Adam Gilchrist to snare the mantle.

Wisden's rating was based on mathematical calculations. Players had to have played at least 50 Tests between 1996 and last year.

"It has been a great journey, the last decade," said Hayden, whose average was only 21 after his initial seven Tests in the mid-1990s.

"To think 10 years ago I was dropped from the Australian side for the second time and then I had to wait again.

"I had faith and patience and it has been a great time, the last five or six years."

Hayden enters this month's Test series against South Africa with five 100s in his past eight Tests.

His runs were scored against a variety of attacks – England, the World XI, West Indies and South Africa.

A strength of Hayden is his belief in his game plan.

He was criticised for over aggressive pull strokes after a first-over mishap in a Test against South Africa in Perth in December.

His response in the second innings was to pull another five strokes to the boundary, before getting out in the last over of the day, again pulling, for 20. In the next Test he continued to pull and a century resulted.

Wisden's calculations were based on a series of equations.

They included a player's failure rate (scores under 20), current average, percentage of hundreds, aggregate runs, percentage of games in which a player top-scored, the number of times a player was in a winning side and his strike rate.

Hayden scored heavily in all departments. His honour roll includes:

Only Australian batsman to score 1000 Test runs in calendar year five times.

Hayden and Sir Donald Bradman are the only batsmen in Test history to score four 100s in successive Tests twice.

Third on Australia's all-time Test batting average list.

Fourth on Australia's all-time Test century-makers list.

Sixth on Australia's all-time one-day batting average list.

Statistically Australia's sixth greatest catcher in Tests.

His conversion rate from 50 to 100 is second only to Bradman by an Australian batsman. ]
 

C_C

International Captain
Figures.
Wisden's ratings are so inconsistent and ludicrous that its funny.
For Lara should easily be the best batsman of the new millenia.
 

howardj

International Coach
C_C said:
Figures.
For Lara should easily be the best batsman of the new millenia.
Lara? Kallis is the best batsman 2000-current.

Anyway, just on Hayden, I'm sorry but I think to say that he is the best batsman of the last decade (1996-2006) is a joke. Did the judges see him against Walsh, Ambrose, McGrath etc? Hayden is a very good player, but he's really cashed in on some pretty ordinary pace attacks. He's never had to face Warne and McGrath at Test level and, when finally confronted with a superb fast bowling battery in England in 2005, he was short of the mark - just like he was against Ambrose, Walsh etc. A very good player, but certainly not the best in the last ten years.
 

Francis

State Vice-Captain
Matthew Hayden named by Wisden - best test player of the last decade

Matthew Hayden has been named by Wisden as the best test batsmen of the past decade. He won the award over Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Anwar, Waugh and Gilchrist.
I rate Hayden better than most people do. First guy to make over 1000 runs in four consecutive seasons. Second person, with Bradman, to make 4 censecutive centuries etc. But I don't see him as the best test batsmen of the past decade. Warne himself has said Hayden from a few years ago was having a period similar to the types he saw in Lara and Tendulkar... but nah.

I don't like it when Wisden do list like these because they rely so heavily on facts to eliminate being subjective. It sounds right, but it really isn't. Stats can be skewering and I don't know if anybody here would say Hayden.

Personally I'd say Tendulkar because the way he was from 1998-99 was special.
 

benchmark00

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A suprise but you can't say he didn't deserve it. He's made an impact in basically every season. That's not to say i would've chose him though.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Why have they randomly done the past decade now? So its 1996-2006? Seems odd.

Anyway Hayden's purple patch was ridiculously amazing, but I still don't think he was the best batsman of the past decade.

And just wondering, if its best test player of the past decade, why did you not mention a single bowler as to who he "won it over". Why does it have to be a batsman :dry:

My best test players of the past decade would be Sachin, McGrath or Murali (providing it is 96-2006).
 

Simon

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Jono said:
Why have they randomly done the past decade now? So its 1996-2006? Seems odd.

Anyway Hayden's purple patch was ridiculously amazing, but I still don't think he was the best batsman of the past decade.

And just wondering, if its best test player of the past decade, why did you not mention a single bowler as to who he "won it over". Why does it have to be a batsman :dry:

My best test players of the past decade would be Sachin, McGrath or Murali (providing it is 96-2006).
the award was "the best test batsman" of the last decade wasnt it?

definately deserved though, hes certainly my favourite cricketer and hes had an outstanding career really...
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Whoops, I read the title and saw "best test player", but didn't realise he wrong batsman in his post.
 

Francis

State Vice-Captain
Ooops sorry it's the best test batsman of the last decade. My bad.

And yeah I don't know if people know how good his purple patch was. Incredible. Apparently South Africans are criticising Australia for not putting him in their ODI team.
But I also remember Tendulkar, and his stuff was amazing in 1998. The way he'd destroy Australia was incredible.

If Wisden picked the best test player of the last decade, they'd pick Murali I'd reckon.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
he deserves it, after all based on the stats he has been the best test batsman in last decade.
 

James90

Cricketer Of The Year
Francis said:
Matthew Hayden has been named by Wisden as the best test batsmen of the past decade.

I don't like it when Wisden do list like these because they rely so heavily on facts to eliminate being subjective. It sounds right, but it really isn't. Stats can be skewering and I don't know if anybody here would say Hayden.

Personally I'd say Tendulkar because the way he was from 1998-99 was special.
So instead of Hayden's two or three freakish years you've gone with Tendulkar because of what he did in a shorter timespan.

Pot? Kettle...black?
 

Francis

State Vice-Captain
Tendulkar was great from 1996-2002... that's longer than Hayden. I was just saying their absolute pin-point peak was better than Hayden's.

As an opener, how do ya'll think Hayden rates among the greats?
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
James90 said:
Tell me if the link works or not...
Because Australia play so much more test cricket than India, the difference between their number of innings is very little considering Sachin has played straight from 96-2006 compared to Hayden's 2000-2006 (when he was a consistent member of the Australian team).

Yet still Tendulkar has averaged 3 runs more, with more tons and more 50s.

Now if we were to compare Sachin from 96-2002 compared to Hayden of 2000-2006, who would win? I'll go check now...
 
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Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Sachin from 1996-2002 (to the end of 2002):
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

A batting average of 60.26! And the tracks were far less flat from 96-2000 and there were far better fast bowlers around then there are nowadays.

Hayden from 2000-2006 (Including 2006 so far):
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

Sachin averages 3 more runs in a period where runs were far harder to come by compared to today. You want to talk about stats, they all point to Sachin over Hayden, and I haven't even done Lara who surely will go down as a better batsman than Hayden as well.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Jono said:
Sachin from 1996-2002 (to the end of 2002):
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

A batting average of 60.26! And the tracks were far less flat from 96-2000 and there were far better fast bowlers around then there are nowadays.

Hayden from 2000-2006 (Including 2006 so far):
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

Sachin averages 3 more runs in a period where runs were far harder to come by compared to today. You want to talk about stats, they all point to Sachin over Hayden, and I haven't even done Lara who surely will go down as a better batsman than Hayden as well.
hmm interesting but not surprsing this Jono, you could take this argument to Wisden for sure..
 

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