Matthew Hayden inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
As Australian selectors mull another opening combination on the eve of the World Test Championship final, one of the best to do it, Matthew Hayden, was among seven cricket greats inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Hayden opened for Australia for 16 years across Test and ODI cricket, once holding the record for the highest Test score after blasting 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth.
He finished his epic career with 30 Test hundreds, and his three centuries during the 2007 ODI World Cup also propelled Australia to victory.
Hayden formed a formidable partnership with Justin Langer during a period of Australian Test domination, in stark contrast to recent times when the opening position in the Test team has been a 'revolving door' according to current opener Usman Khawaja.
He said he remained in the dark about who would open with him at Lord's against South Africa in the WTC final that starts on Thursday, having been through four partners since David Warner's retirement.
'I've had a few partners since Davey's gone. It's just a tough place to bat,' Khawaja said.
'You can't hide in Test cricket. I think whoever's going to come in will do a good job, but for me, it's no different.'
Hayden made the spot his own in 273 matches for Australia across Tests, ODIs and T20s.
The powerful Queenslander blasted nearly 15,000 runs across the three formats, with 40 international hundreds, and he finished his career with a Test average of 50.73, putting him in rarefied air.
Indian legend MS Dhoni, Daniel Vettori, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, Sarah Taylor and Sana Mir were the other inductees.
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