"Any time I have been asked to do anything I've always said yes at any time of day," said the 51-year-old left-handed batter.
Follow Us
According to a source, batting legend Matthew Hayden is willing to assist Australia in resolving their batting issues in the present Test series after the visiting side was bamboozled by Indian spinners in the first two matches. India’s spinners, led by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, scalped 32 of Australia’s total 40 wickets in the two Tests in Nagpur and New Delhi. Hayden, who is commentating on the series for host channel Star Sports, said he would gladly throw his hand up to help Australia’s fiasco against Indian spinners for free.
“One hundred per cent, at any time of the day or night, it is given that myself — and I’m sure I speak for anyone else that I represent that would have that kind of influence — would 100 per cent be in,” Hayden was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’. “Any time I have been asked to do anything I’ve always said yes at any time of day,” said the 51-year-old left-handed batter. Former captain Michael Clarke has urged the visiting team management to tap into the wisdom of Hayden, who averaged 110 in the epic 2001 tour under Steve Waugh and was also a member of the victorious Adam Gilchrist-led team in 2004 – Australia’s first Test series victory in India since 1969. Hayden stated that he would “absolutely not” charge Cricket Australia for his time with the Australian team, but he did want the governing body to provide current players with access to the prior generation.
Read more: ‘Bazball’: What is the England Test team’s new weapon?
“You can’t alienate them (former players). If you want the creme de la creme, the very least you can do is respect them. There should be a system if you’re in the CA role, how do we get the intellectual property in our players? That’s the key,” he said. It’s not possible because a week before we came over here everyone was screaming bloody murder about their superstars not playing the Big Bash League – and yet they’ve got a Test match nine days later,” Hayden said. “This is where I really don’t envy the role of Andrew McDonald. He has to work out what is the priority in terms of his playing group of which he has zero per cent control over a two-month period because of IPL.
Hayden, who scored 8625 runs at an average of 50.73 in 103 Tests between 1994 and 2009, said he sympathises with coach Andrew McDonald because teams no longer have the time for comprehensive tour preparation. ‘What do we want to win fellas?’ would be part of that tenure. Because we know what it takes to win in India.” McDonald has stated that he is open to Hayden joining the team if players desire to use him in addition to their current coaching staff. McDonald defended the team’s preparation for the series in India, stating they would not have changed anything in the run-up. “If Matthew can add value to individual players, I’m sure those individual players would definitely engage in a conversation with him,” the coach said.
Rishabh Pant's explosive last-over blitz ignites IPL 2024 amid T20 World Cup comeback talks
