Hayden calls it a day.

Mebee, h. Age will get Fleas as well, but right now he will be one of the first men selected in the team.

And surely you have to respect what the wozzie-dubber has achieved. To fight his way back into the Test squad on sheer weight of runs. It was something that Hayden himself did in the late 90s.

"Gideon Haigh was just on and took it to mean Shield, club, country etc. - in other words everything."

I should think he will still honour his contractual commitments to the IPL though, right?

BTW, GH, how many Australians have 1000 runs in India at an average over 50?

OP Tipping wrote:"Gideon Haigh was just on and took it to mean Shield, club, country etc. - in other words everything."

I should think he will still honour his contractual commitments to the IPL though, right?

Of course.

OP Tipping wrote:BTW, GH, how many Australians have 1000 runs in India at an average over 50?

Warne from his 7th to his 13th Test there .....

Oh , You meant batsmen

When he was at the height of his powers, I enjoyed watching him. When he walked off the MCG at the Boxing Day Test in 2006 waving his bat to the crowd, I thought he might be planning on calling it quits and was thanking the massive crowd for their support.

Unfortunately, the past six or so months he lost me as a fan because it was obvious that the magic was gone. Sure, he'd fought just to get into the team after an inauspicious start, and fought his way back into the OD team after being dumped 18 months out from the 07 WC, but it was the refusal to admit that time might just have caught up with him that gave me the shits. His 'I'll know when it's time' when several other players before him had been unceremoniously shitcanned by the selectors was arrogance in the extreme.

Sure, I'll remember him as a very good opener, but the memory will be somewhat tarnished. Which wouldn't have happened had he done the smart (TGM, tgm, NLWL, Gilly) thing and gone out leaving the fans wanting more.

Good luck, galoot. Any chance you can take Roy with you?

skully wrote:And surely you have to respect what the wozzie-dubber has achieved. To fight his way back into the Test squad on sheer weight of runs. It was something that Hayden himself did in the late 90s.

agreed....but that is where the comparison ends - one is a champ and the other tries very hard

Hayden was not a great of the game.

He was a very good batsman perhaps on a par with Gordon Greenidge.

"Sure, I'll remember him as a very good opener, but the memory will be somewhat tarnished. Which wouldn't have happened had he done the smart (TGM, tgm, NLWL, Gilly) thing and gone out leaving the fans wanting more."

Aye. Should've gone at the time Gilchrist did, at the end of the home series against India.

agree with the GG parallel....GG was also a champ... two of the greatest openers I have had the pleasure of watching

I rank GG and the galoot ahead of sunny, taylor, dessy h and boycs

Phurt! Robert Craddock has declared that Hayden is Australia's greatest opening batsman. What a lod of shit.

OP Tipping wrote:"Sure, I'll remember him as a very good opener, but the memory will be somewhat tarnished. Which wouldn't have happened had he done the smart (TGM, tgm, NLWL, Gilly) thing and gone out leaving the fans wanting more."

Aye. Should've gone at the time Gilchrist did, at the end of the home series against India.

maybe he thought he was 'owed' an extra year or two to make up for his early years in the wilderness

I liked Slats better.

Tributes flow for Hayden, like cold tar through a straw.

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/386224.html

"Phurt! Robert Craddock has declared that Hayden is Australia's greatest opening batsman. "

Fair enough. He's certainly right up there.

yep with ponsford, morris et al

OP Tipping wrote:"Sure, I'll remember him as a very good opener, but the memory will be somewhat tarnished. Which wouldn't have happened had he done the smart (TGM, tgm, NLWL, Gilly) thing and gone out leaving the fans wanting more."

Aye. Should've gone at the time Gilchrist did, at the end of the home series against India.

Perhaps he saw Rogers' effort in the WACA Test and thought ....'farque , I'm better than that' ....the others all had replacements* waiting for them to leave ....MacDill/Hogggyyy!!!, Subi/Dung/Jonno , Hattie and Haddn't ...

horace wrote:

OP Tipping wrote:"Sure, I'll remember him as a very good opener, but the memory will be somewhat tarnished. Which wouldn't have happened had he done the smart (TGM, tgm, NLWL, Gilly) thing and gone out leaving the fans wanting more."

Aye. Should've gone at the time Gilchrist did, at the end of the home series against India.

maybe he thought he was 'owed' an extra year or two to make up for his early years in the wilderness

His first incarnation tended not to disprove those doubting his technique though. Are any of the Aussie players ever owed anything?

Ricky Ponting, Australia's captain
I don't think there's any doubt about that [he is Australia's greatest opener]. You can even look back through the history books of the game and try and see if there's ever been a better opening batsman in the game, let alone Australia.

err... Hobbs for a start ...ya farken drunk two headed eejit

No player is owed anything. It's an honour to represent your country, not a gift or a debt or a right.

Clamson wrote:No player is owed anything. It's an honour to represent your country, not a gift or a debt or a right.

true and I made my point in a clumsy manner...more like owed it to himself...

your country awards honours to its players - eg Shermanator MBE

He always struggled when faced with world class fast bowling.

Barnes
Simpson
Bardsley
Lawry
Langer
Taylor
Morris
Redpath
Slater
Ponsford

Henry wrote:He always struggled when faced with world class fast bowling.

So Bruce Laird is the best opener ever....