Matthew Hayden is the kind of cricketer you could easily miss in this Australian cricket team. The Queensland southpaw doesn't have the elegance of Mark Waugh, the grit of Steve Waugh or the attacking strokeplay of Ricky Ponting. However, Hayden has really come into his own on this tour of India. Scoring consistently, Hayden has been a thorn in India's flesh at the top of the order. In the first Test at Mumbai, Hayden made 119 and 28 not out. When he walked out to play the second Test at Kolkata, Hayden managed 97 and 67, top-scoring in the second innings. On Sunday, the first day of the third and final Test at Chennai, Hayden cracked a sparkling unbeaten 147 (249 balls, 12 fours, 5 sixes).

Blunting the spinners with some effective sweep shots Hayden took charge of the situation early on. Going after the same spinners who tormented the Australians so much in earlier encounters, Hayden took five sixes off the slower bowlers. Left arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni was dispatched to the stands on three occasions while Harbhajan Singh found ball boys looking for balls that he bowled on two occasions. Speaking to the press at the end of the day, Hayden was a tired but satisfied man. "It's hard batting in these conditions, but I've always enjoyed a challenge," he began. The left hander had clearly worked hard to get where he is. "When I started my career I was not particularly good against spinners. But that's something I've worked hard at. Apart from playing spinners, I've also done my best to get used to batting on slow wickets. That's held me in good stead," he continued. It must be remembered that Hayden came down to India about a year and a half ago specifically to learn to play spin.

When asked whether it was a team decision to go after the spinners Hayden replied in the negative. "There was no team decision to go after spinners. It was just something I took upon myself. I was keen to go after Harbhajan Singh and that worked well for me," said Hayden, revealing that he was a thoughtful cricketer, a fact that is not always apparent given the way the big man carries himself.

And to think that the whole cricket world was worried sick about this same gentleman around Christmas in 1999. Hayden and Andrew Symonds, both keen anglers, were away fishing near Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay, off the Queensland coast. When a wave toppled their fishing boat, the two were in a spot of bother much worse than being tied up by good spinners on tough wickets. In the early hours of the morning, the pair had to swim back a fair distance without the aid of life jackets. To reach safety, the two had to swim several kilometers! A good thing too that the two big men were so fit.

If he can swim kilometres to safety, surely Hayden can bat on a bit more and take Australia to safety in this series.

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