While most players in the Australian team were complaining about the crowds, the heat, the humidity and the Indian captain, Australia's most successful batsman on the tour Mathew Hayden revealed that he found "peace in the chaos of India".

Writing in 'The Sun Herald' Mathew Hayden said, "Seven weeks ago, I arrived in this most remarkable country to play a Test series that every first class cricketer dreams of. It is not just one thing that is captivating in India, but a thousand things. I am inspired by this country and its remarkable people.

"There is a lack of the materialism that astonishes me. No matter how poor or lowly people appear, they smile and the effect is like taking an aspirin to cure a headache. When I was feeling crowded or harassed, I would focus on an amazing smile, a smile wrapped right around a face."

Hayden recalls his on road experience when he once freaked out with Steve Waugh. "Once we went out with the expectation of just wandering the streets and within three minutes there must have been 600 people behind us. It was a sea of people.

"The cricket crowds are impossible to describe," he said adding that the Kolkata Test was "absolute bedlam, outrageously loud, like putting your ear against a rock concert speaker."

Not surprisingly, Hayden who scored more than thousand runs on the tour found the Indian wickets the most peaceful.

"With the exception of my hotel room with the door locked and the phone on the hook, I found the wicket probably the most peaceful place to be in India." he said.

The left-hander loved Indian curry and said "the Indian food is great."

Revealing the secret of his stamina, Hayden said "At night time I would drink until I was sick, water, not the amber ale to keep the fluids up. Because I am from Queensland, I seem to cope with the humidity and hold water well. I made it my religion to make sure my sample was clear, when we gave the urine sample at the end of every match day."

On VVS Laxman's epic 281 in Kolkata, Hayden writes, "It is the best innings I have seen. It was phenomenal. It was not only an innings of sheer determination and concentration over an eight-hour period, it was courageous, ruthless, and featured spectacular skill. As we walked off I ran over and said, "That was inspirational and he said, 'Thank you very much'".

Apparently, Hayden had no problem with Sourav Ganguly. "I found him fine. After the last Test he came into the dressing-room and sat next to me probably because I was closest to the door!.

"He and I played against each other in county cricket last year so we talked about the county experience (where he was not well liked either). He was concerned about his batting so he sat and played with my Gray Nichols and remarked how light they were. His bats are like railway sleepers that have been chopped off at the edges. Massive. I asked him why he used such heavy bats and he said, 'I don't know, really.' That's what happens when you are in a slump, you start to think that every bit of your equipment is not right. Ganguly did some stupid things on tour," Hayden said without elaborating.

"The Indians are so different from us, it is a different ethos. Australian cricket is a team but the Indians don't have that mentality." he added. "For example, if an Indian makes a hundred it is a ticket to sit down and not field for the rest of the game".

© PTI