Hard work pays for Hayden

By Martin Gough
BBC Sport, Barbados

Hayden has hit 580 runs in the current World Cup

If you were looking for an example of Australia's embarrassment of riches when it comes to the number of talented players available, look no further than Matthew Hayden.

Dropped from the one-day side after a disappointing Ashes tour in 2005, he was in the wilderness for a year, missing 27 games.

Had all-rounder and one-day opener Shane Watson not injured a hamstring last October, Hayden, 35, may not have made the World Cup squad.

Now, as the leading scorer with 580 runs - 100 more than anyone else - going into Wednesday's semi-final against South Africa, he is one of the top candidates for the player of the tournament award.

But he is having none of that, saying: "To be honest I couldn't care less about being player of the tournament. What we're here to do is win the semi-final.

"It's great to be a part of such a confident side going into the semi-finals in such a huge, huge tournament."

Although he was tagged very early in his career as one of the best batsmen of his generation, Hayden is used to having to force his way back into the Australian side.

This story is nothing remarkable. It's just a story of what it means for us to play for our country Matthew Hayden

After an unimpressive start in the international arena, not helped by a broken thumb suffered against South Africa, he was left out of the side for six years.

He recalls watching the famous tied 1999 World Cup semi-final against South Africa from a treadmill in Northampton, where he was playing county cricket, and being "absolutely zero part of the Australian set-up".

"I'm here today because the skipper [Steve Waugh] obviously believed in me and I believed in myself and it's really as simple as that," he said.

"It would have been easy, as it is for any member of the Australia cricket fraternity, to give up because the people who do make it to this team find it very hard to get out of this team."

Just like British rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave, who the Aussie side met a fortnight ago, Hayden seems to get better with age.

But, also like Redgrave, that success is down to an intense work ethic.

He spent an hour in the nets on Monday facing a bowling machine, leaving those responsible for gathering balls more exhausted than he was.

"Steve spoke a lot about the way he motivated himself to title after title. We were sitting in front of a gold medal legend - not just one gold medal, but five," said Hayden of their meeting in Barbados.

"He hit a chord with me in so far that he really had to work harder as his career went on.

"He wasn't looking for the easy routes at all. In fact, he was looking to try harder. When he said harder, he meant smarter as well. I thought he was an incredibly impressive human being."

Hayden's batting so far in this tournament has been brutal, especially when he last faced South Africa in St Kitts, setting a new World Cup record with a 66-ball century.

On the field, he has the look of a bully, bludgeoning bowlers to all parts of the ground, but off it he is anything but.

Hayden has plenty of interests away from cricket

And his time out of the side has clearly helped his perspective, making him multi-dimensional as a person.

His light-hearted, thoughtful way of dealing with media questions was a revelation after following England for much of the tournament.

The author of a cookbook, his most enthusiastic response came when asked about Caribbean cooking. "I love fresh lime!" he beamed.

And he spoke pragmatically about his past struggles and current success.

"This story is nothing remarkable. It's just a story of what it means for us to play for our country," he said.

"Like any player, I've had my fair share of ups and downs. Thankfully I've stayed out of those lows, certainly they haven't extended.

"I guess it's just continuous persistence and pure joy of playing for your country. It's all worthwhile."